Dr Nadia Warner is a Senior Scientist at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratories at the Doherty Institute, which has been instrumental in developing critical insights into COVID-19 in Australia.
She and her colleagues are currently testing drugs that can potentially reduce the effects of the disease, and contribute to the research for a vaccine.
Dr Warner is a single mother and while she is at work, her five-year-old daughter attends a daycare centre.
“She goes there four days per week. I am a single parent, so the centre is the really only option for me to be able to go to work," she says.
"Personally, I don’t have any grandparents or family in Melbourne. So if the daycare facility wasn’t there, I would have to stay home and I can’t really work from home."
One day, when she walked her daughter to the centre before wearing face masks was made mandatory in Melbourne, she noticed that the educators were not wearing masks.
“I was wearing a mask that I made and the teacher said something along the lines of ‘hey, that’s a cool mask’ and I thought 'that is something I can do, I can make them masks'. I like sewing, it has always been my hobby,” she told SBS Italian.
When Dr Warner got home, she took out her sewing machine and sewed home-made masks for all the teachers.
“My daughter helped me and we chose a specific fabric for each teacher that we thought they might like."
Childcare teachers wearing Dr Warner masks Source: Courtesy of Dr Warner
Valentina Caputo is an educator at the centre where Dr Warner's daughter attends daycare.
“We were all so touched and relieved by Dr Warner’s gift. The masks were really perfect, but importantly, it made us feel part of the community, appreciated and it brought a smile behind our masks,” she says.
Because the centre is close to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and a major COVID-19 testing facility, children of many other healthcare professionals are also enrolled there.
Ms Caputo says she has always felt very proud to be able to support the families of the professionals involved in fighting the virus. But because of the nature of her job, she feels very vulnerable.
“Working with kids from ages six months to five years, it's not really possible to follow the [physical distancing] measures suggested by the government. Social distancing is impossible if you have to change a diaper. They need all the care we can give them,” she explains.
But for Dr Warner, it was the most natural thing to do.
“These people are like our family and making them a mask was a way to show them my gratitude other than just saying thank you. And I was so surprised by their response - all the teachers were so happy and I was too.
"I think we have to look after each other," says the scientist.
“I guess health professionals understand how to protect ourselves a bit better, but for childcare workers, it is probably something new and maybe a little bit frightening, unknown. But they still have to show up, be a fresh face to the kids."
“Between 5am and 8pm, people in Melbourne can leave the home for exercise, to shop for necessary goods and services, for work, for health care, or to care for a sick or elderly relative. The full list of restrictions .
All Victorians must wear a face covering when they leave home, no matter where they live.”
