UK Man Makes Face Masks of Beer Kegs to Help Healthcare Workers Deal With Coronavirus Pandemic

Earlier this week, The Guardian reported that healthcare professionals in the UK are being threatened with disciplinary measures if they speak about their work during the pandemic.

Bill Bremner, a beer enthusiast from east London, has recently joined the fight against the spread of the coronavirus, in his own way.

Following reports of mask shortages in the UK, the logistics manager at Hackney’s annual Pigs Ear Festival, started recycling beer kegs into personal protective equipment (PPE). One 20-litre container provides eight masks.

"I had all these empty keykegs because I help run a beer festival for the campaign for real ale, and I took them home to see if I could find another use for them, rather than seeing them be disposed of,” Mr Bremner said.

According to Mr Bremner, his masks are very similar to those found in hospitals as he looked at pictures of PPE equipment on the Internet before figuring out his own variant.

At the same time, he notes that his masks better suit for those doing home care visits and those working in nursing homes as intensive care professionals have more substantial masks.

Mr Bremner hopes that his example could encourage other beer enthusiasts to join the efforts in fighting the coronavirus in the UK.

As of Saturday, the UK has more than 68,000 confirmed coronavirus cases with nearly 8,000 fatalities.