The Honda Khiang Khang Thai Fund (HKKT), under the Honda Thailand Foundation, together with the Honda Group of Companies in Thailand, continues to offer support for Thais during the current outbreak of COVID-19 that is progressively spreading to a wider area by accelerating the production of another 1,100 units of its Negative and Positive Pressure Smart Face Shield worth over 42 million baht. Developed and produced by a volunteer team of Honda engineers, the smart face shield is specially designed to protect medical personnel from COVID-19 infection and prevent the spread of the disease from patients. Production of the smart face shield is underway at Honda's car manufacturing plant in Ayutthaya to be delivered to the Ministry of Public Health and Ramathibodi Hospital for further distribution to public hospitals nationwide, as well as to the Department of Corrections, in the middle of June 2021.
Mr. Pitak Pruittisarikorn, Managing Director of the HKKT Fund, said, "Today, Thai people are once again facing a more severe outbreak of COVID-19 that is spreading widely. The HKKT Fund decided to accelerate the production of another 1,100 units of the Negative and Positive Pressure Smart Face Shield in addition to the previous 1,000 units already produced and distributed to 77 hospitals nationwide in February. On behalf of the HKKT Fund, we would like to support medical and healthcare workers, patients, and Thai people to overcome the adversity together very soon."
Dr. Natthaporn Harangsri, an anesthetist at Ranong Hospital, shared her experience using the HKKT Fund's Negative and Positive Pressure Smart Face Shield when treating patients infected with COVID-19. "The smart face shield fits comfortably and is lightweight for easy breathing. Most importantly, the adjustable air pressure level helps boost ventilation to prevent the smart face shield from fogging up when wearing it during hot weather, allowing the wearer to treat patients longer and more efficiently, especially during operations or endotracheal intubation, when patients tend to cough, which may lead to a wider spread of infection in the respiratory tract. The current demand for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is growing significantly."
The Negative and Positive Pressure Smart Face Shield has passed standard testing for medical devices from the Department of Science Services, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation. It consists of a mask, air duct, and air filter adjusted to function as a positive pressure mask for healthcare workers to prevent infection and a negative pressure mask for infected patients to prevent disease transmission. The HKKT Fund is distributing a total of 2,100 units to support the growing demand for medical devices due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, the smart face shields produced will be donated to the Ministry of Public Health and Ramathibodi Hospital, which will then further distribute them to public hospitals nationwide including Siriraj Hospital, Chulalongkorn Hospital, The Thai Red Cross Society, the Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, and other hospitals, as well as to the Department of Corrections.
Thai society has faced the COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020. The HKKT Fund has joined forces to fight COVID-19 with an allocated budget worth a combined total of over 122 million baht, which comes from contributions made when every Honda customer purchases a motorcycle, car, or power product. The HKKT Fund remains ready to stay side-by-side with and assist Thai society to overcome the difficult COVID-19 situation.