The coronavirus has sparked a global run on face masks as people seek to protect themselves. But do they work? One Czech company says they’ve invented a mask that does.
Do masks protect against coronavirus?
Health officials in the US say face masks don’t provide any protection against the spread of the coronavirus and warn against relying on them. Because surgical masks don’t filter small particles, they are ineffective.
“Right now, there’s no evidence that [wearing face masks] is going to help prevent that infection,” Chiu, a professor of laboratory medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told CNN. “I would not recommend that someone in the US who does not have direct exposure, did not recently travel to China…or in general that you go buy a face mask.”
Respilon claims their masks kill coronavirus
Respilon says their face masks capture and kill the coronavirus.
The company’s face masks are made of nanofibers coated with copper oxide nanoparticles.
Respilon claims the face masks nanofibers capture the coronavirus, thereby preventing it from being inhaled. At the same time, the copper oxide nanoparticles kill the virus on contact.
Export ban
The companies masks are currently unavailable. Respilon manufacturers the nanofiber in the Czech Republic, but the assembly of the masks occurs in China. Chinese officials have banned the export of face masks. Thus, preventing the company from resupplying the product.
New production line
Respilon’s head Roman Zima said a new production line would launch within weeks thanks to an agreement with an Israeli company. Mr. Zima said the nanofiber face masks would be available for sale in the Czech Republic again within six to eight weeks.