Youth Day 2020: student keeps health workers safe on Covid-19 front line

Matthew Trusler spends his days creating a barrier between front line health workers and the quick-spreading Covid-19 engulfing the world.

The 24-year-old UCT biomedical engineering student came up with a design for a medical face shield, called the ViZAR, that can be manufactured by hand from easily-available products.

He and a team are producing about 500 units per day.

“We have supplied 5,000 to the Western Cape department of health,” he said, adding that a further 3,000 will go to Gift of the Givers while requests are coming in daily for more.

Trusler said it was “incredibly heartwarming” to see how his generation, both locally and abroad, has seized the opportunity to help communities through innovation.

“We have the ease of access to knowledge like never before in this fight, and it is encouraging to see academics and enthusiasts the world over engaging in thought around solutions. I am incredibly grateful to be in a position where I can do my part to help,” he said.