Burberry Swaps Trench Coats for Hospital Gowns in COVID-19 Battle

Burberry is the latest high end brand to join the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The company said Saturday it is using its global supply chain network to fast-track the delivery of more than 100,000 surgical masks to the U.K. National Health Service, for use by medical staff.

It is also “retooling” its trench coat factory in Castleford, Yorkshire to make non-surgical gowns and masks for patients. Production and distribution will be subject to approval from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Burberry said.

The company added that it is funding research into a single-dose vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford (England), which has one of the world’s best track records in emergency vaccine development, with past success in fighting Ebola and MERS. The vaccine is on course to begin human trials next month.