Rabat – Moroccan textile company OMALAMISE volunteered to produce and distribute free reusable masks for residents in Rabat and the neighboring regions. The initiative is an attempt to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company announced the move in a post on its Instagram page, published Tuesday.
Since the announcement two days ago “we received over 600 orders” the sales executive at OMALAMISE told Morocco World News.
The same source added that most orders are placed by employees at companies that are still operating despite the pandemic. “People who work at call centers, banks, patients going for doctor appointments.”
The company has put in place two drop-off points in Rabat and nearby city Temara, with distribution starting today, Thursday 19.
Daily production ranges between 60 to 100 masks, revealed the sales executive in an interview with MWN.
Following feedback from its customers, the company is including them in the initiative.
“People were contacting us willing to pay for the masks….So the entire proceeds from those who can afford them will go to the purchase of basic material for those who the pandemic left in a dire financial state.”
The initiative aligns with the business of the enterprise that specialises in bed, bath, and table related textile production. The protective masks however are not for medical and surgical use.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B967OwFB3co/
The initiative is also pertinent in light of the national and global shortage in protective mask supplies ever since the start of the pandemic.
Earlier this month Morocco moved to ban the export of medical protective masks when two British nationals attempted to smuggle over $3.3 million worth of the product to the UK.
The company’s current textile stock is sufficient for the next two weeks and they are already in contact with their supplier for more material. Because the masks are partially made of cotton they are reusable after washing on a 60 ℃ heat.
In an act of solidarity, a Temara-based distributor has offered to make the deliveries, with OMALAMISE taking extra precautionary measures for the drop-offs.
Moroccan businesses and public figures have also mobilised substantial financial resources to alleviate the pandemic related impacts on the country.
The special relief fund, created by king Mohammed VI, received over MAD 15 billion (over USD 1.5). Contributors include Afriquia Gas, Bank of Africa, King Mohammed VI, Minister and Government officials.
Read also: Moroccan Youth Launch Coronavirus Awareness Campaign in Tamazight
