Sonovia, an Israeli start-up, has developed a reusable anti-viral fabric face mask which should be able to neutralize 99% of the Covid19 virus.
Unlike a regular disposable mask the SonoMask provides dual and durable protection both for the wearer and for those in close contact with the wearer.
The mask which can be washed multiple times is coated in zinc oxide nano particles that destroy bacteria, fungi and viruses. Most importantly it provides an effective shield for the wearer from contracting the virus.
The fabric which can be used in textiles for hospitals, PPE, and clothing is awaiting certification for use by medical professionals in emergency rooms and operating theatres.
In May of this year the fabric was tested at the Austria’s HygCen medical lab using the Vaccinia virus which is almost identical to the SARS-Covid virus. That test showed, “a good virucidal effect “according to the lab report.
Further tests have been conducted in the microspectrum, Weipu Jishu laboratory in China and an additional test is being carried out in Beijing, with a report due within the next few days.
If, as expected the results show a 99% efficacy, Sonovia will be partnering with strategic manufacturers around the world to create a full range of protective equipment including respirators and hazard suits.

On Saturday August 1st the US Food and Drug Administration granted an Emergency Use Authorization to SalivaDirect a saliva test procedure developed by Yale’s School of Public Health, to detect Covid19. This authorization followed a major trial involving asymptomatic players, coaches and staff of the US National Basketball Association. This is the 5th Covid 19 test approved by the FDA.
In describing the efficacy of this test, the terms “groundbreaking” and a “game change” were used to heap praise on the latest entry of the Covid-Identity-kit sweepstakes. There are however, a number of valid reasons to suggest that this new devise may indeed stand out from the pack.
The test requires no swabs or collection devices it just uses spit from those being tested. Furthermore it does not rely on expensive, hard to source chemical components to test the saliva. As Professor Nathan Grubaugh explained,” once we established that the virus was stable in saliva for a prolonged period of time at a warm temperatures, we dispensed with the need for preservatives, special test tubes and we sourced the least expensive reagent for the analysis.
SalivaDirecrt is simple, fast and equally as accurate as the gold standard swab tests which have a 90% accuracy rating with a turn around time within 24 hours. However, it has been designed to test people who are asymptomatic not for hospital patients. So its ideal for Schools, business and medical institutions to get students back to school, healthcare workers back to hospitals and employees back to work.
SalivaDirect can be used two or three times a week on staff, students and healthcare workers and the cost is around £6 per test. Introducing the test could increase daily testing by up to 200,000 tests a day.

Professor Eli Schwartz, who heads the Centre for Travel Medicine and Tropical Disease at Sheba Medical Centre, Tel Hashomer, Israel, has launched a clinical trial of the drug Ivermectin. The drug is a broad-spectrum and parasitic agent that is used to fight parasites in third-world countries has shown some positive indications in fighting viruses in general and could help “cure” COVID-19. Professor Schwartz shied away from the anti-malaria based drugs focusing instead on drugs which demonstrate strong antiviral activities and Ivermectin seemed to fit the bill. Clinical trials are now underway to determine if Ivermectin, administered to non-hospital patients with moderate cases, can reduce the viral shedding period which would allow them to test negative for the virus and leave isolation in just a few days.
To date the Professor’s team have been able to record viral clearance within six days post-intervention. If this can be established at the conclusion of the trials then Ivermectin will prove to be much more effective then Remdesivir.
Although Professor Schwartz is not looking specifically on Ivermectin ability to reduce mortality, preliminary results of a US study of Ivermectin involving patients with severe symptoms showed that it may reduce mortality.
The results of the US study was bolstered by an Australian research project which found that Ivermectin was capable of killing COVID-19 within 48 hours in a cell culture.

The antimicrobial elements found in copper, which has been well established over the past 60 years and is now, finally, receiving intense interest among the so called international scientific community because has the potential of killing SARS-Cov-2 the new strain of CaronaVirus that causes the Covid19 infections.
More importantly given copper’s aggressive antiviral activities, we thought that it should be essential for healthcare professionals to know how they can advise patients to ingest copper as a primary weapon in preventing becoming infested. This information we believe is critical because Copper is an essential trace mineral that cannot be formed by the human body. It must be ingested from dietary sources.
In that vain we include below a list of foods that one should eat in order to ingest copper, it’s a list of healthy foods and its broad enough to include meat lovers and ardent vegans:-
The best dietary sources are seafood (especially shellfish), organ meats (e.g., liver), whole grains, legumes (e.g., beans and lentils) and chocolate.
Nuts, including peanuts and pecans, are especially rich in copper, as are grains like wheat and rye, and fruits including lemons and raisins.
Other food sources include cereals, potatoes, peas, red meat, mushrooms, some dark green leafy vegetables like kale, and fruits like coconuts, papaya, and apples. Tea, rice and chicken are relatively low in copper, but can provide a reasonable amount of copper when they are consumed in significant amounts.
Eating a balanced diet with a range of foods from different food groups is the best way to avoid copper deficiency. In both developed and developing countries, adults, young children, and adolescents who consume diets of grain, millet, tuber, or rice along with legumes (beans) or small amounts of fish or meat, some fruits and vegetables, and some vegetable oil are likely to obtain adequate copper if their total food consumption is adequate in calories.
We hope this list affords our members an opportunity to for members to revise their daily diets and we in turn will offer more supplementary advice as we receive it from the experts.

In 2008 the world’s largest study of hospital surfaces made up of copper materials proved conclusively that the anti-microbial properties in copper destroyed killer bacteria and stopped the spread of infections through touch and finger-tip contamination. (Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham).
The study headed up by Professor Tom Elliott found that copper taps, toilet seats, door push plates, door handles, handrails, switches, hospital carts and so on, all but eliminated infectious micro-organisms that existed.
Lab tests showed that copper kills off MRSA, C difficle superbugs and a range of other dangerous germs including flu virus and the E coli food poisoning bug. Addionally a study led by Professor Peter Lambert at Aston University, Birmingham showed the efficacy of copper when patients were treated in rooms where touch surfaces were copperized, compared to patients treated in regular rooms. The infection rates of the patients in the copperized rooms were reduced by 48% .
In spite of the overwhelming evidence that replacing stainless steel in key touch areas with copper, not one hospital made any significant changes. Five years later York Health Economics Consortium designed a business model that showed that projects for installing anti-microbial copper touch surfaces in just IC Units would pay for themselves in less then a year.
This study was recently underscored by a US study which showed that the direct cost of treating a single patient with a hospital-acquired infection is approximately $45,000 whereas 70% of hospital-acquired infections could be eliminated by rooms being refitted with copper replacements in key touch areas at a cost of $5000.
The anti-microbial activities of copper are effective against Covid19 and immediate steps should be taken to replace key touch areas in hospitals, schools, public buildings in order to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Using copper is as critical as washing hands, sanitisation, social distancing and wearing face masks.