Retired physicist and longtime Southern Shores homeowner Bob Bateman is making face shields for police and healthcare personnel on his home 3-D printer—joining a growing number of engineers and other do-it-yourselfers nationwide who are using their printers to produce needed protection gear for people on the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis.
Unfortunately, Bob, who has made six shields so far, is running short on materials and needs your help if he is to continue his production and meet the orders he has received from local first responders and healthcare workers.
According to his wife, Ursula, who is working the phones and social media, Bob needs the following three items, which the Batemans cannot find in local hardware stores or online:
Foam tape: ¾-inch wide and ¼-inch thick;
Elastic band: ½-inch wide and 31 inches long (no scraps);
5 mil thick, clear poly sheets: 12 inches by 9 inches.
If you have any of these materials, please contact Ursula at ubateman1617@charter.net. The Batemans will arrange to pick up your supplies and compensate you for them.
Bob’s shield production started when a friend asked if he could help someone on the Duck police force, according to Ursula.
BY THE NUMBERS: TODAY’S DARE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT BULLETIN, NO. 24
According to the COVID-19 update bulletin issued today by Dare County Emergency Management, North Carolina currently has 1,584 cases of confirmed COVID-19 in 79 counties. Nine COVID-19-associated deaths have occurred in the state, and 204 people are hospitalized.
DCEM reports that 53 percent of the COVID-19 cases in North Carolina are people between the ages 18 and 49; 26 percent are people 50-64; and 19 percent are people who are age 65 and older.
The first person who tested positive in Dare County is now fully recovered, according to the bulletin. The other person, whose positive test was reported yesterday, “is doing well and improving each day.” That person is in self-isolation. Both cases have been linked to travel or direct contact, not community spread, according to the bulletin.
See https://www.darenc.com/Home/Components/News/News/6055/1483
Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 4/1/20
The Southern Shores Beacon 