Corona Virus: I wonder what Nigerian tailors are doing

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I was watching a news report on TV about what many tailors or apparel manufacturers are doing in the USA in response to the Corona Virus problem and one thing they've started doing as a result of shortage of nose or face masks is producing re-usable or washable masks. Those type of masks can be used over and over again and someone with a pair or more can use on today and another tomorrow after washing the first one. Unlike the nose or face masks available in Nigeria, they are mostly imported, used once and thrown away and their price has increased to about N400 from N200 because of the Corona virus problem.

Why do we have many tailors in Nigeria who before the corona virus problem where so eager to sew clothes for people on request or for sale but have not seen the need to start sewing masks that can be used and reused? Yes, many of our so called tailors have become used to sowing clothes for us for our special occasions and on request but have not seen that nose mask production can actually be a good business opportunity. A reusable nose mask can help people save money over a long term and as far as this corona virus has come to stay for a while, it has become more sensible to have them than just using masks once and throw them away after use. A single use mask lasts for a day or two and since this virus issue is most likely going to last for more than 30 days, it may not economic sense for many Nigerians to keep buying them. At a market price of about N400 per disposable mask, if a person uses it for protection for 30 days in a month, that will cost him about N12,000 and let's say he uses it for up to 2 days before disposing and for 15 days in a month, that would cost him N6000 per month. Will it not make better economic sense if he just buys 2 or 3 pieces of reusable or washable fabric masks that can last for up to a year.? I'm figuring a fabric mask produced by Nigerian tailors would probably sell at about N1000 to N2000.

I had purchased a fabric mask from Amazon a few months ago before the corona virus (COVID-19) outbreak for about $9.99 in 2019 for personal hygiene and it has turned to be useful for me during this time. I recently gave a sample of the mask to a tailor of mine and he said it will cost him about N1500 to produce it and he was wondering if Nigerians will even be willing to buy his mask at that price. Personally, I believe that a lot of Nigerians will be willing to buy it rather than keep spending money buying single use masks that are gradually becoming scarce with their prices keep going up and up. Yes, because of the corona virus scare in Nigeria, nose masks have become scarce and pharmacies have been making good money selling the item at a ridiculous high price. The government is not doing much to provide masks for the public so that they don't become scarce.

Not many Nigerians are happy with the way the government is handling the corona virus problem but I think one way Nigerians can help themselves is to start demanding that their tailors sew washable nose masks for them because of the growing scarcity of single use masks. With the ongoing lock-down and curfews being imposed in many cities in Nigeria and no local production of health kits, Pharmacies and shops are gradually running out of stock and I'm hoping that the government encourages people to start producing them locally.

Despite the fact that many Nigerians and the government have seen the rising number of deaths occurring globally in countries better prepared than us like Italy, China and Spain in terms of health care, only very few Nigerians actually wear masks regularly. If a lot of Nigerians start wear masks and keep their hands clean, I believe we will be able to reduce the infection and fatality rates. We don't have enough health care infrastructure to prevent the virus and our nation's plan is to prevent it.

However, I believe prevention is better than cure. We need to at least protect ourselves rather than be sorry. Who knows? What if more Nigerians die from Corona virus than they died during our civil war? What if this disease wipes out many people leaving only children? Wearing a mask and keeping clean hands is a good start and we should get tailors to start sowing masks for us rather than keep relying on imported masks which are getting pricier and scarce on a daily basis.

Nigerians too can make their own fabric masks at home as long as you have the right fabric and a sowing machine. There are tonnes of YouTube videos that teach tutorials on how to sew a COVID-19 mask at home. Even if you don't have a machine, you can still make a fabric mask without one. Corona Virus is spread by droplets and contact, we can do something to protect ourselves.

Posted by Felix Okoli on Tuesday March 31, 2020 at 22:29:5: