Scientists in Hong Kong have invented a cheap and easy way to make home-made masks as the city, gripped by fear over the deadly coronavirus, suffers from long queues and price-gouging over its dwindling supplies of protective gear.
The University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital worked with the Science Park to devise the do-it-yourself method as thousands of people have waited overnight outside pharmacies promising new stock and costs spiking to as much as HK$400 or more for a box of 50 surgical masks. Often missing from the queues are many elderly – too weak or poor to join – some of whom have resorted to steaming the few masks they have left or and reusing one for days.