Two public universities have taken the initiative to produce hand sanitisers for their respective campus communities to address health issues brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) produced a hand sanitiser solution prepared at its teaching hospital, Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Hospital (HCTM) in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, which was subsequently bottled at the University Health Centre (UHC) in UKM’s main campus in Bangi, Selangor.
UHC director Dr Mohd Azman Abas said this was done in view of the difficulty of obtaining it due to the surge in demand as hand sanitisers played a crucial role in protecting people from the virus.
“The mixture uses 99 per cent alcohol, which is then diluted to 70 per cent. We get raw materials from a pharmacy store at HCTM. The hand sanitisers are distributed for free to various response centres and residential colleges. The bottles can be returned to be refilled,” he said.
Meanwhile in Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT), researchers from its Institute of Marine Biotechnology (IMB) developed a 70 per cent alcohol-based solution that was infused with aloe vera and tea tree oil.
IMB director Professor Dr Yeong Yik Sung said the method of preparing the hand sanitiser was in accordance with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation with few modifications in the composition of the material used.
“Though we faced difficulty in obtaining the raw materials to prepare the solution, we managed to source them from the various faculties as well as response centres that might have them. As a result, we have successfully made the product available to the UMT community,” he said.
IMB managed to produce 2000 bottles containing 50ml of the hand sanitiser solution in the first phase of production.
“They are not for sale right now and are only available to those on campus. We have plans to distribute them to the surrounding community when we have sufficient materials,” said Yeong.
Meanwhile, Dr Azman said UKM had set up a Covid-19 operations room located at UHC’s Emergency Department.
“The one-stop centre is where all the action and flow chart of work processes on campus that are related to Covid-19 will be issued,” he said,
Throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) period, Dr Azman said the operations room would also function as a reference and information gathering centre for all things related to the virus, such as student statistics on campus according to residential colleges.
“Face masks, hand sanitisers and gloves are distributed daily to the university’s employees and security personnel and UHC staff,” Dr Mohd Azman said.
The university has also established a website on Covid-19, which features frequently asked questions and questions on the pandemic, in compliance to the MCO directive by the government. It can be accessed via www.ukm.my/portal/covid-19/. UKM also uses social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to disseminate information on the pandemic.