Story By: John Feng, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
AsiaWire
These incredible images show a Chinese woman who has been visiting a hospital dressed in a full giraffe costume which she is using as a hazmat suit to avoid being infected by the deadly Wuhan coronavirus.
Ms He, from Naxi District in Luzhou in south-western China’s Sichuan Province, has turned heads with her very distinct attire as she walks through the corridors at Southwest Medical University’s Affiliated Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
But doctors have warned her outfit is ultimately ineffective at preventing her from catching the highly infectious pneumonia-like disease.
Ms He, 38, wears the apparently airtight costume over her regular clothing, but still she does not forget to put on a surgical mask which she changes every few hours.
Where her head is, the inflatable costume has a plastic sheet which allows her to see where she is going.
Footage taken on 14th February shows Ms He collecting medication for her poorly father and leaving via the hospital car park.
Ms He said her father, who is a long-time patient of the hospital’s department of respiratory medicine, was feeling unwell, but she refused to let him visit the facility in case he contracted the killer disease, which has now been named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization.
Ms He told local media: “Both my parents are quite poorly. They have weak immune systems, so I don’t let them leave the house.”
She added that she has giraffe and alien costumes, both of which were purchased online.
With real decontamination suits virtually impossible for civilians to buy, Ms He appears content to continue using her animal costume as hazmat gear.
However, her father’s doctor, Ao Suhua, warned: “Decontamination suits are used by medical workers who have prolonged close contact with patients.
“They’re also made from special material which can isolate [the wearer] from pathogens.
“Although Ms He’s ‘hazmat suit’ appears to be airtight, the material likely still allows the virus to come into contact with her. That is, it’s not effective for prevention.
“And if she wears the inflatable costume home and does not disinfect it every day, bacteria will remain on it.”
Doctor Ao’s advice for effective disease-prevention is to prepare surgical masks and disinfectant wipes before leaving home.
Masks should be worn while out, and individuals should avoid public transport when possible.
Hands should be kept clean and sanitised at all times, and a distance of at least 3 feet should be maintained between all pedestrians.
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