Press Statement – Plans Underway to Distribute 2 million home-made face masks

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Lusaka 5/04/20 – The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group (ZRHSG) has plans of distributing 2 million (2,000,000) home-made masks over a period of 5 months to bus crews and passengers at bus stations and markets around Lusaka as a way of halting the spread of the corona virus around the city.

The project dubbed “Pushing Corona Out of Lusaka” is expected to cost USD 60, 120 and will involve hiring of tailors and volunteer road safety and health experts to distribute these masks and sensitize passengers and bus crews to wear masks at all times while in the bus or in public.

The goal of the Pushing Corona Virus Out (PCO) Project is to halt the spread of the corona virus in Lusaka among its 2.6 million inhabitants by providing home-made face masks to bus crews, motorists, street kids and passengers.

The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group is aware that bus stations and markets are a hive of activity and therefore are a potential epicentre at the spread of the corona virus in Lusaka. The Group is also aware that the virus does not move on its own but is moved through human to human interactions through the public transport system which in Lusaka comprises of poorly ventilated Minibuses that have for a long time been squeezing five passengers per seat (known as five –five) instead of 3 passengers per seat. This means passengers are in close proximity and contact of one another and breathe in the same corrupt air. If one sick passenger sneezes in the bus, the chances of the entire bus getting the virus are very high.

The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group is also aware that most of these buses are often cleaned using water drawn from all sorts of sources including ponds and streams around Lusaka. Their levels of hygiene are very low as compared to the acceptable standards and requirements of cleanliness to prevent and defeat the corona virus.

The Project draws lessons from Countries like Czech Republic and others that have rolled out the use of home-made face masks and have recorded less infections significantly slowing down the spread of the corona virus in public places as those that are infected cannot spread it and those that don’t have it cannot inhale infected droplets because of face masks.

“We invite embassies and donor agencies that have funds for fighting the corona virus to partner with us in making this project a success and sure that this virus is stopped from spreading in our markets and bus stations through the provision of these vital face masks,” says Group Admin Mthoniswa Banda.

“Our fear is that there is a passenger or bus crew member currently with the corona virus still in its incubation stage and they are spreading it every day unknowingly in these buses and markets,” says Group Admin Mthoniswa Banda

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The Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group is a registered not-for-profit road safety awareness organisation that has been operating in Zambia for over a year and has over 2,700 members.

Its vision is a Zambia without road traffic accidents caused by ignorance of road safety rules and highway regulations.

Mthoniswa Banda (Mr)

Group Admin

Zambian Roads and Highway Safety Group

Mobile: +260977 405086

Email: Mthoniswa@yahoo.co.uk