Icelandic company ORF Genetics has donated skincare products to healthcare workers to help reduce the negative impact personal protective equipment (PPE) has on their faces, Fréttablaðið reports. 1,400 workers in 54 public healthcare centres have received or will receive Bioeffect EGF serum as a token of gratitude from the company.
In recent weeks, social media has been flooded with photos of doctors across the world with facial bruising caused by wearing ill-fitting PPE for extended periods of time. PPE is vital for nurses and doctors treating COVID-19 patients to reduce the risk of infection, but it can cause rashes, bruising, acne and even ulcers. ORF Genetics hopes that its donation can go some way towards reducing the discomfort experienced by Icelandic healthcare workers during this current crisis.
Workers at Landspítali hospital have been showered in gifts in recent weeks, as Icelanders rush to thank them for the hard work. Speaking to Fréttablaðið, Hrönn Stefánsdóttir, nurse and project manager for the National Hospital Emergency Department, described some of the donations hospital employees have received “We got sushi from Osushi. IcePharma gave us ice cream and a freezer to store it in. We have received goodies from Jói Fel and the Bakery Master. It is wonderful to find this goodwill, it matters so much.”
Once again in the midst of the challenging times, many Icelanders are showing their immense capacity for generosity and compassion. We can only hope that the sense of community spirit that the epidemic has prompted will long outlast the virus.
As ever, those looking for more information or advice should go to the Icelandic Government’s excellent COVID-19 help page.
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