Canon Central and North Africa, a leader in imaging solutions, says it is supporting its partners in making a special effort to assist vulnerable people through the COVID-19 crisis.
“Today,” said the company, “CCNA would like to put a spotlight on KAS Print in Nigeria, as they find innovative ways to assist brave healthcare workers and public safety efforts in Africa’s most populous nation during the coronavirus pandemic.”
Nigeria is home to over 200m people, many without the financial means to protect themselves from the novel dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On February 27, Nigeria confirmed its first case and after 100 days (June 6), the country had officially recorded 11,844 confirmed cases and 333 deaths on a curve that is still expected to rise, especially if the virus reaches the vulnerable refugee populations of the country’s North-East.
Stay-at-home orders have increased financial pressure on many, while the sharp drop in the oil price has put a strain on the Nigerian economy as a whole.
CCNA disclosed that to fight the virus head-on, KAS Print created protective face shields made of laser cut and shaped transparent acrylic.
Covering the entire face, the shield protects the mouth, nose, and eyes from the droplets that carry the virus, while giving a full field of vision and adequate airflow for user comfort.
The design also offers personalised labels, printed on the Canon Colorado UV Gel Printer, to reinforce health and safety messages alongside company or sponsor branding with KAS Print already producing over 100,000 protective face shields, which have received approval from the relevant regulatory authorities.
A statement by CCNA, also disclosed that there were plans to produce over 1m shields by the end of 2020.
It said the protective face shield was just one of the three essential products in the COVID-19 PPE kit box. Produced by KAS Print, the kit is designed for distribution in hospitals, companies and government entities, to help reduce the spread of the virus between workers, customers, and visitors.
Every kit box contains a face shield, a face mask for additional protection of the mouth and nose, and liquid sanitiser for the hands, covering all four key areas of the body in one kit. The PPE kit box itself, is cut and creased using a flatbed cutter and personalised with instructions printed on the Canon C10000 and Colorado.
“COVID-19 is an unprecedented global crisis and personal protective equipment is central to the solution in all affected nations. In order to slow the spread of the virus in Nigeria, it is essential that we make more PPE available through initiatives like those of KAS Print,” said Ben Gossage, B2B Sales and Marketing Director at CCNA.
“KAS Print has been a loyal customer of Canon and we are especially proud that our printing solutions can be used to support their worthy efforts. We will need many more stories like this to protect the vulnerable through these challenging times.”
