Nigerian firm begins production of medical face masks

By Adekunle Yusuf

 

As part of efforts to boost the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, O-Care Medical Face Mask has begun daily production of face masks in Nigeria.

This, the company said, would help the fight to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country. Speaking in Lagos during the commissioning of O-Care Medical Face Mask factory, the Managing Director of Transgreen Nigeria Limited, Cyprian Orakpo, said that since the world is yet to find a preventative vaccine or curative drugs to arrest Covid-19 pandemic, face masks and other medical devices like gloves, PPE, ventilators have suddenly become national security products.

He noted that many nations banned their exports to other nations as they didn’t have the capacity to meet their local needs.

This resulted in acute scarcity in many countries, including Nigeria, which has made the prices of these highly needed products to skyrocket. “This time around, Transgreen Nigeria Limited, maker of O-Care Face Mask, has risen up to the occasion to fill this voids and contribute her quota as the first indigenous company to produce local medical face mask. This factory is primed to produce up to 240,000 medical face masks daily.

“O-Care 3-ply medical face mask offers protection against dust, pollen, bacteria and all known viruses with breathable comfort and low respiratory resistance. This product is durable and manufactured to WHO standards.

As an organisation, we believe that by making affordable medical face mask available and accessible to all, we are helping Nigerians and indeed Africans to live and work freely, learn, and play, create and work, doing the wonderful things that keep humanity moving forward during these trying times,” Orakpo said.

While speaking, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu pledged the state government’s support towards the company’s success by making the first order of 250,000 medical face masks. “If Covid-19 is going to be with us for a while then, we need to think of how to domesticate some of the preventive measures of which O-Care Medical Face Mask from Transgreen Nigeria Limited is taking a bold step as the first indigenous company to produce medical face mask and we are going to support them.

“We are going to support this company because this is a strategic production line that is important to us in our existence as human beings; we are going to be supporting you in area of procurement by making the first order of 250,000 medical face masks on behalf of people of Lagos State,” he said.