Chat with us, powered by LiveChat

People wearing masks in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is being re-traumatised in 2020 – by another crisis that, like SARS in 2003, is devastating society and financial markets. Similarly, a lack of knowledge and information on the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China have caused wild panic and chaos as well as a global scramble for face masks, from Hong Kong to London and New York. The topic of face masks, the many types available, how they are put on, the ways they are worn incorrectly and dangerously, the stockpiling of masks for inflated secondary sales, the “recycling” of masks for personal use or resale and the conversion of household items like pomelo rinds, feminine hygiene products and plastic water bottles into make-shift face shields are just some of the issues we’ve been re-visiting with the arrival of the new coronavirus, or what the World Health Organization recently renamed Covid-19.

In stores and online (if not sold out already) there are face masks of every grade, material, style and variety: masks made from medical-grade paper, decorative paper masks in a rainbow of colors, sleek polyurethane Pitta masks, washable fabric masks and reusable dust and allergy masks. Most of these products provide absolutely no protection against the novel coronavirus or other viruses.

Which masks can offer protection? Surgical face masks and N95 respirators, which filter viruses from the air with up to 95% efficiency; even though viruses are smaller than the filter spaces, they become trapped in the mask layers and by ionically binding to the filter material. But even the best face masks are often worn and disposed of incorrectly, and many of the masks on the market are also counterfeits.


Post time: Apr-17-2020
WhatsApp Online Chat !