Bras replace SARS masks

Villagers in southern Taiwan are strapping bras to their faces to guard against the deadly SARS virus due to a shortage of surgical masks.

Villagers in southern Taiwan are strapping bras to their faces to guard against the deadly SARS virus due to a shortage of surgical masks.”I went to every pharmacy in the village and it’s impossible to find a proper mask,” a middle-aged man told cable television, his face partially covered by a dark red cup.”Somebody came up with this idea so I decided to give it a try,” he said at a village near the southern city of Tainan.A small bra factory is producing the make-shift masks, with workers cutting each of its colourful bras into two and sewing on extra straps to help the desperate villagers.Face masks have disappeared from many store shelves as Taiwan’s severe acute respiratory syndrome infections tripled in the past two weeks to 360 cases.That is the third highest rate in the world after China and Hong Kong.(Source: ABC, Friday, May 9, 2003. 11:28am (AEST))