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Gaming hardware company Razer has pledged to produce and donate one million surgical masks to health authorities across the world to fight the spread of the novel coronavirus (via Kotaku).
CEO Min-Liang Tan announced the initiative in a thread published to Twitter. “While there has been incredible demand for our products during this time with many staying home to avoid the crowds (and to play games), the team at Razer understands that all of us have a part to play in fighting the virus—no matter which industry we come from,” explained Tan. At the time of writing, there are 224,000 confirmed cases of the virus in 176 countries and territories. Over 9,000 people have lost their lives, and Spain is seeing the highest rise in new cases, followed by Germany, Iran, and Switzerland.
Health officials recommend social distancing and self-isolation to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and reduce the risk to vulnerable individuals. However, this is not always possible in all circumstances, for example doctors, nurses, carers, retail staff, and food service staff. Surgical masks may be worn to prevent transmission of infection while in public, as the virus is transmitted through droplets from talking, coughing, and sneezing.
“Over the past few days, our designers and engineers have been working 24-hour shifts to convert some of our existing manufacturing lines to produce surgical masks so that we can donate them to countries around the world,” continued Tan. “We intend to donate up to 1M masks to the health authorities of different countries globally.” Additionally, Razer offices across the world will be “reaching out to their respective governments/health authorities to see how we can prioritize our support and donations of surgical masks in the various countries and regions where we have a presence.”
He emphasised that “all of us have a part to play” in the pandemic. Fortunately, the coronavirus has a high recovery rate, with 86,254 people now recovered from their condition. Be that as it may, the elderly and those with autoimmune disorders are at exceptional risk of developing complications from coronavirus. The most effective preventive measures are rigorous hand washing, covering your mouth when coughing and sneezing, maintaining social distance, and self-isolation for fourteen days for individuals who think they may be infected.
