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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
April Roach

Disney selling themed face masks to raise money for coronavirus fight

Disney is selling themed face masks for children (Picture: Disney)

Disney has said it will donate one million face masks to children in vulnerable communities to help fight the spread of coronavirus.

The company is also selling themed face masks featuring popular characters such as Yoda and Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc, to make them more appealing for children, to raise money to fight Covid-19.

Disney is donating the cloth masks for children and families in "undeserved and vulnerable" communities across the US.

The masks will be distributed by MedShare, a humanitarian aid organisation, and Disney said it would donate profits up to $1 million, from the sales in the US to MedShare from now until September 30, 2020.

A statement on Disney's Shop website reads: "Disney is committed to serving the communities where we live and work.

"During these challenging times, we're using the power of our timeless stories and beloved characters to address our guests' needs for family-friendly reusable cloth face masks."

The masks are available from June 29 (Disney)

The masks are sold in four packs for $19.99 (£15.88) and come in a variety of sizes.

They are currently only available for pre-order and are expected to be available from June 29.

Disney stressed that the masks are not surgical masks as they do not provide liquid barrier protection and should not be used in clinical settings.

The face masks come in a variety of sizes (Disney)

It comes as politicians in the UK continue to debate how effective face masks are in stopping the spread of Covid-19.

Speaking at yesterday's daily coronavirus Downing Street press conference, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the facial coverings will give the nation "confidence" when returning to work and may be helpful for "epidemiological reasons".

The Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has been looking into the effectiveness of wearing face masks.

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