Alberta Ghostbusters are the ones to call if in need of medical equipment during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The group has been keeping busy during the pandemic, putting their prop-making abilities to use for a good cause.
Alberta Ghostbusters is a society that usually spends its time attending cosplay events to help raise money for charities in the province.
A large event many members usually attend is the Calgary Expo, originally scheduled this year for April 23-26, but with events in the province being cancelled due to the pandemic, the group has more time on their hands than usual.
“The idea came from a lot of us being out of work and sitting at home going, ‘we need something to do,’ so we started making props,” Dustin Milne, a member of the group said in an interview with 770 CHQR.
“Then we thought, instead of making torches for helmets and proton packs, why not make these medical supplies and get them out to the health-care workers.”
Milne said that time has come in handy for members to perfect a new craft.
“It’s actually kind of crazy,” he said.
“We have members with all sorts of different backgrounds and capabilities, so it’s a great team to have in times like this because everyone has a special skill set that really lends itself to kind of fixing the problem.
“Some of the people have five or six 3D printers, then there are people with laser cutters and stuff like that.”
LISTEN: Alberta Ghostbusters are using their prop-making skills to create medical equipment amid COVID-19
The group has partnered with Fuse33 and members of the prop team from the newest movie — predominantly filmed in Alberta — Ghostbusters Afterlife, to make medical products, including face shields, scrub caps and ear savers.
“Each of us is doing about 100 of the ear saver bands a day,” Milne said.
“There are probably 10 guys printing those.”
Milne said the group has received a lot of requests so far from medical professionals and facilities for their products.
“We got flooded with messages,” Milne said.
“Not so much the front-line trauma centres but the other places that have been left out of the mix. Vet clinics and assisted living centres are all reaching out.
“We actually had to make a form on our website to handle the demand.”
Health-care professionals in need of extra equipment can go to the Alberta Ghostbusters website to put in requests, which will be fulfilled on a first-come-first-served basis.
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