Covid 19 coronavirus: Demand for protection face masks in Tauranga grows

Suzi Marks, who owns Mount Alterations, is run off her feet with orders for face masks. Photo / Supplied

Two Tauranga business owners say the demand for face masks has surged after the Government's call for people to be ready for possible future Covid-19 outbreak.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins said Kiwis would be encouraged to wear masks in public places if the country moved back to alert level 2.

Hipkins urged people to get prepared now for the possibility of a future outbreak by ensuring their emergency survival kits contained a mask for every household member.

"Just as we are prepared by having food and water set aside in the event of a natural disaster, we are encouraging New Zealanders to have a supply of masks set aside."

"We simply can't afford to be complacent, our best chance of preserving the gains we have made is to stay ever-vigilant and stay ever-vigilant," he told NZME.

Currently, there are 23 active Covid-19 cases in border hotels.

Suzi Marks, who owns Mount Alterations in Central Parade, was one of the volunteers involved in the Masks for Tauranga not-for-profit community initiative.

The initiative started during lockdown by Vicki Lang, the owner of Follow the White Rabbit store in 9th Avenue, Tauranga, saw a group of 30 volunteers sew more than 1600 face masks which were distributed to essential workers free of charge.

This included to Tauranga Foodbank, KidsCan New Zealand, and the Women's Refuge.

Marks said once the country moved to alert level 3 and demand slowed down, she started making a few masks and had been selling one or two a week from her store.

"But since the beginning of last week, we've been crazy busy.

"It's been absolutely insane and chaotic trying to keep up with demand, especially as it was ball season too. We have completely run out and have had to take orders.

Suzi Marks, who owns Mount Alterations, is run off her feet with orders for face masks. Photo / Supplied

"So far we've had 40 orders, including 30 on Friday. Some people have ordered two or more for each member of their household, and one gentleman even ordered 10.

"We could be looking at making 200 or even more a week if this keeps up."

Marks said the surge in demand was a "little surprising" at first but clearly people were heeding the Health Minister's advice to get themselves ready for a future outbreak.

The masks she and her staff were making and selling were mainly "funky" designs such as vintage, paisley patterned and cartoon-themed ones, she said.

"Let's hope we don't go back into lockdown, no one wants that. But as the Health Minister says we all need to be prepared for the possibility."

Lang, head of operations for the Masks for Tauranga community initiative, said demand had slowed down but was on the rise again.

The masks have pockets to enable quality filters supplied by NZ face mask manufacturing company Lanaco to be inserted, which provided added protection for wearers, she said.

"Since the lockdown, I had been working seven days a week, 12 hours a day, and decided to take a long overdue winter break last week.

"But since our director general of health Ashley Bloomfield's announcement about the need to get prepared, orders for more masks have started pouring in."

Lang said there had been 70 online orders last week, including more than 50 in just 24 hours and orders kept coming and she was struggling to find enough paid sewers.

Bloomfield's health advice was "long overdue", particularly given what was happening across the ditch and the rise in confirmed cases around the globe, she said.

The pattern to make your own face mask is on website https://masksfortauranga.nz/