DOST speeds up production of face shield for COVID-19 frontliners

To help address the depleting number of personal protective equipment of our medical frontliners in the fight against COVId-19, the Department of Science and Technology has accelerated and increased its production of face shields.

According to a press statement, DOST R&D said it is now producing a total of 5,000 shields every day, at DOST-MIRDC Bicutan, Taguig and in San Pedro Laguna.

DOST Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC), led by Executive Director Engineer Robert O. Dizon, is currently mass producing face shields as it fabricates an injection mold that can create 2,500 pieces a day.

Meanwhile, DOST-MIRDC partnered with Omnifab, which has also fabricated another injection mold, and the Megasamsonite Plant in Laguna, which offered their facility as a site for mass production to produce another 2,500 face shields a day.

Meanwhile, the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI), another DOST leg, has 3D printed 100 pieces of face shields given to the frontliners of the Philippine Heart Center.

They are looking to increase the 5,000-count with Philippine Science High School Main Campus, which will also be producing face shields using materials provided by the ITDI.

Bataan Peninsula State University - Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory (BPSU-AMREL), which is also funded by the DOST, has created a process that combines 3D printing and injection molding in creating face shields at a faster but in a more customizable manner.

Aside from Philippine Heart Center, Philippine General Hospital and Philippine Army General hospital have received 3D printed face shields from DOST.

They are hoping to be able to donate to more medical facilities and frontliners across the nation.

The lack of PPEs has been a pressing issue since the Philippine started its fight against COVID-19. Early on, several hospitals have placed their staff on quarantine after they became exposed to the virus. 

As of Monday, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose to 3,660 with 163 deaths and 73 recoveries, according to the Department of Health. — Jannielyn Ann Bigtas/LA, GMA News