The University of the Philippines has yet again proven their dedication and service for the country as they developed UV Disinfection Units that addresses the growing shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the country.
Previously, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that “severe and mounting disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) – caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse – is putting lives at risk from the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases.”
With the lack of PPEs, many healthcare workers have to endure using the same PPE set for a minimum of 8 hours hence, restricting their actions to prevent contamination. Some even improvise on their own.
Due to this, public and private sectors raised funds to provide necessary supplies. Personalities like Angel Locsin, Lea Salonga and Jia Morado have helped in this endeavor, as well as Vice President Leni Robredo herself.
The local fashion industry has also mobilized their production facilities with improvised protective gears to help address the shortage.
However, despite the overwhelming amount of aid, the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is still rapidly growing. There is a need to ensure we have adequate PPEs for the long run. Thankfully, the nation’s premier state university was able to develop a device that will help aid in flattening the curve.
In a viral post by a certain James Biron, he showed photos of UV Disinfection Units that are designed for combating bacteria in PPE suits via ultraviolet (UV) light. According to Biron, “They check the output by passing through black light. If bodily fluids are still present in hospital gowns, it indicates presence of bacteria and potentially the dreaded coronavirus. This device will allow hospital gowns to be safely re-used by medical personnel. This will address the problem of scarce supply of PPE.”
The device is a product of efforts by Prof. Jun Ballesteros and his Engineering students from the University of the Philippines Diliman. As of date, the team has created 12 units in total and will be distributed to government hospitals in Quezon City for free.
Several Filipinos online commended UP for working on this innovation.
As the world grapples with this pandemic, it is great to see people who are continually ramping up their efforts in order for the nation, particularly its people, to stand a fighting chance.
