Chilean companies are rallying together to provide a range of vital health and wellbeing supplies and technologies to countries around the world as the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

The Chilean Salmon industry, fashion designer Luz Briceno, tech-provider ZYGHT HSE Technology, Copper 3D, and AHB Games are working to provide a range of services and supplies, including increasing COVID-19 testing, supplying reusable and antimicrobial masks, sharing technological platforms for businesses across the globe and creating digital entertainment to help families maintain a positive wellbeing in the current climate.

Carlos Salas, Trade Commissioner of Chile in Dubai, said: “Chile has a unique opportunity to make a significant contribution in supporting the fight against COVID-19 by supplying the UAE, and indeed countries around the globe, with essential supplies and technologies during these uncertain times.”

Chilean fashion designer Luz Briceño and her two partners are using their custom-made fabric, which incorporates copper nanoparticles, to produce essential medical supplies including a reusable and antimicrobial mask to help those battling the pandemic on the frontline.

The safety devices, which can be washed multiple times without losing anti-viral properties, were created using raw material following extensive clinical tests. The masks resemble the bill of a duck, allowing the mouth and nose to avoid contact with the fabric, providing users with increased protection and freedom of movement.

To date, Briceño has received calls for her products from all over the world, with Dubai alone, placing a large order for all the Copper Company’s textiles including hospital bedsheets and masks.

Similarly, the 3D printing community in UAE and Oman is using the Chilean product Copper3D, an antimicrobial filament, to help provide the necessary tools and parts that are in short supply to the medical industry, when and where they’re needed.

In the field of technology, ZYGHT HSE Technology is providing an innovative and free tool, through the use of Software as a Service (Saas), to help organisations across the globe – which must remain open – to maintain efficient and effective operations while minimising the risks of COVID-19 within the workplace.

Turning to the Chilean digital entertainment community, AHB Games, known for their development of the popular game Cultura Chupistica, are witnessing a sharp increase in downloads as families seek alternative entertainment sources whilst isolating at home.

The company have created games which are focused on bringing families together to socialise in the comfort of their own home, helping them to overcome moments of tension or nervousness during the spread of coronavirus.

Meanwhile, the Chilean Salmon industry, through SalmonChile, have offered the country their support by allowing them to use their laboratories to analyse 5,000 samples daily which have been taken from suspected sufferers of coronavirus.

The technique used to test for COVID-19 is the same used in salmon farming, denominated PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). Initially, 10 laboratories will be participating in the initiative which is hoped to vastly improve the volume of tests processed daily and relieve pressure on the national health system.

Salas added: “The UAE, Chile, and every country across the world, for the first time in history, are facing many of the same challenges at the same time as they continue to fight the spread of COVID-19. Strong bilateral working relations are integral during these unprecedented times. “Chile is committed to working in partnership with every country around the world, sharing its skills, knowledge and experience and over the coming weeks and months will continue to export in demand supplies to the MENA region.”