Utah Opera Employees Make, Donate PPE To Salt Lake Regional
Apr 28, 2020, 2:17 PM | Updated: 6:09 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – People who work in the costume shop at the Utah Opera have been taking advantage of the time off due to the coronavirus-related closures to make face masks.
A team of six stitchers has been working to make the masks out of material leftover from the Opera’s production of “The Little Prince” last year, according to a news release.
Workers are also making hundreds of stretch extenders. As anyone knows who has worn a mask for an extended time the elastic bands on the masks can hurt the ears. The extenders work across the back of the head to take pressure off the ears.
The release said the stitchers challenged themselves to see how many masks they could make in a day. They completed several hundred masks over the course of two weeks.
The PPE was donated to Salt Lake Regional Medical Center.
“When I called Salt Lake Regional, they were genuinely happy for the call. Since it is a small hospital they didn’t usually receive offers of help, so really anything we could offer would be wonderful,” said Verona Green, Utah Opera costume designer.
“In this uncertain world where it is hard to know what to do to help, a simple mask becomes a positive gift that things will get better. I felt strongly about this and the costume shop joined right in,” Green added.
The team is also stitching 700 medical-grade face masks. The opera is investigating whether it can find the materials to also make face shields for health workers.
The release said the Utah Opera and Symphony has canceled thirteen performances through May 23.