Coronavirus
Technology Solutions
3M Offers Certified Cleanliness Program
UK Strain More Infectious and Deadly
65,000 Fake N95 Masks Seized by Customs
Properly Ventilated Outdoor Structures for Safe
Dining
Ahlstrom –
Munksjö Partners with Virgis for HEPA Filters
Bondex Adds Needlepunch Line in SC
Mondi Starts Up New Meltblown Line in Germany
HomTex Receives FDA Approval for Level 1
Surgical Masks
Shawmut and Fallon Launch Protex N95 Masks
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Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3M has
played a critical role in the global response to
COVID-19, and as economies reopen, 3M is helping
businesses return to work. Today, the company is
launching the 3M™ Clean & Protect Certified
Badge Program, a new comprehensive system for
cleaning, monitoring and protecting facilities.
There is a cautious optimism in the air as the
world emerges from this global pandemic," said
Greg Brown, facility care business director for
3M Commercial Solutions Division. "By providing
our customers with the tools, products and
training needed to reopen, the Clean & Protect
Program not only provides facility teams with
the ability to help create a safer work
environment but also helps give their guests
more confidence in the health and safety of the
facility."
The 3MTM Clean
& Protect Certified Badge Program was designed
to provide facility management teams with
effective cleaning and disinfecting solutions
and training to allow for a safer return to
normal activities and operations. Although teams
are working hard behind the scenes to reopen
safely, being able to provide a visual cue that
illustrates their commitment to clean is
important. The program includes four components
to promote cleanliness, confidence and
compliance in facilities.
With the reduction of pandemic restrictions,
there is a palpable excitement about returning
to normal activities like dining out, traveling,
attending events and learning and working in
person. However, even as the pandemic slows,
guests and employees may still have fears about
the cleanliness of public spaces.
"As we all do our part to reduce the spread of
COVID-19 and prepare to resurrect a new normal,
putting the proper tools, products and training
in place now will help reduce financial and
operational burdens in the future," adds Brown.
"Showing your employees and customers that you
care about their health and safety by earning a
3M Clean & Protect Certified Badge, will help
you to reopen – and stay open – with
confidence."
UK Strain More Infectious and Deadly
Recently, researchers at the University of
Bristol and the University of Exeter found that
infection with B.1.1.7, a strain of SARS-CoV-2
that first surfaced in the U.K. in October, is
associated with a higher risk of death than
infection with other previously known strains of
the virus.
Designated a “variant of concern” by Public
Health England in December, B.1.1.7 has already
spread to more than 50 countries around the
world, including the United States and Canada,
and has even emerged as the dominant strain of
the novel coronavirus in some regions.
In the U.K., it now accounts for three-quarters
of all infections; in Florida, more than half,
according to Robert
Challen, PhD,
a postdoctoral research associate in the
department of mathematics at the University of
Exeter and a lead author of the study; in
Connecticut, more than a quarter. What’s more,
it shows no signs of slowing down.
Thus far, doctors and scientists have
tentatively attributed some of B.1.1.7's early
success to one or more genetic mutations that
enhance the ability of the virus’ spike proteins
to bind to host cell receptors. Most likely
thanks to these mutations, B.1.1.7 is more
easily transmitted than earlier strains.
But
Challen’s work suggests it may also be more
lethal. The March study was published in The
British Medical Journal.
“The increase in transmissibility and in
severity means more caution is required, and in
the face of a wave of new variant infections,
public health bodies should be prepared to act
quicker to prevent hospitals being overrun,”
says
Challen.
65,000 Fake N95 Masks Seized by Customs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers
Sunday seized 136 boxes of counterfeit medical
masks at O’Hare International Airport after they
noticed the masks were giving off a “chemical
smell” and their boxes had grammatical errors,
officials said.
The phony masks arrived from Colombia in South
America and were similar to 3M N95 masks with a
3M trademark, according to a U.S. Customs and
Border Protection news release.
Officers seized 65,280 masks. If the masks had
been real, because of supply and demand, they
would have had a domestic value of over
$401,000, according to the release. All the
masks were destined for a company in Virginia,
according to the release.
Properly Ventilated Outdoor Structures for Safe
Dining
Experts say that, when properly ventilated,
outdoor structures can be a reduced-risk dining
option.
The outdoor dining structures, like tents,
shacks and plastic domes, that have popped up at
restaurants and breweries during the pandemic
have been mocked on social media and criticized
as hypocritical: So it’s OK to eat inside, as
long as it’s outside, their skeptics question.
But the structures, when used properly, can be
safer than eating inside a restaurant, experts
say. The amount of risk varies depending on the
setup and the practices of the businesses and
diners themselves.
“There is no restaurant dining experience that
is completely safe right now,” said Dr. Michele
Polacsek, who responded to questions via email
with input from fellow University of New England
public health professor Jennifer Gunderman.
Aside from avoiding eateries altogether, dining
outside in the open air is best, they said. But
domes, wooden shacks, tents and greenhouses can
be reduced-risk options – the safest being
properly maintained structures that hold only
one party, which consists only of people who
live together.
“They keep people safe who are in their bubble
system. I think they are a great option; they
provide people a safer way of eating out. They
just need to be managed in a way that prevents
exposure (to) the subsequent parties,” said
Christine G. Crocker, executive director of the
Maine Indoor Air Quality Council.
Crocker said the smaller, single-party
structures can be adequately ventilated by
allowing stale air out and fresh air in for 15
minutes between parties. Contactless service, in
which customers place and receive orders without
the server entering the structure, also reduces
risk, Polacsek said.
That’s how it’s done at Rising Tide Brewing Co.
in Portland, which has domes for individual
parties. Reservations
are spaced out by 15 minutes to give “5 minutes
for the (dome) to air out after the party
leaves, (about) 5 minutes for our staff to
sanitize, (about) 5 minutes for it to air out
again before the next party,” said Kailey Partin,
Rising Tide’s director of branding and
hospitality.
Servers do not enter the domes but instead place
all food and drink on a barrel that is located
outside the entrance to the structure.
For structures that hold multiple parties, the
risk varies from restaurant to restaurant
depending on many factors, including the size of
the structure and the number of people in it,
the distance between tables and whether patrons
wear masks when speaking with the server, said
Polacsek. But, in general, “the more space,
ventilation/filtering and fewer people – the
better,” she said.
An open door or window or a mechanical fan in
the doorway all help airflow circulate in and
out, Crocker said. Restaurants also should use
air filtration devices within the structure that
constantly filter out potentially contaminated
air, as well as a high-efficiency particulate
air – or HEPA – filter, which brings in clean
air. Crocker said the latter is what she sees
missing the most from restaurants.
In addition to ventilation and filtration, the
personal practices of diners and restaurant
staff, including physical distancing, proper
mask wearing, hand washing and personal hygiene,
all factor into the safety of any dining
situation, and limiting contact between servers
and guests helps reduce the risk.
One recommended practice – widely adopted by
restaurants early in the pandemic but which
hasn’t proved to significantly improve safety –
is the sanitization of surfaces, like tables and
chairs, but Polacsek said it’s still encouraged
as a “better-safe-than-sorry practice at this
point.”
If you are dining with people you don’t live
with, without masks and not socially distant in
structures that aren’t well ventilated, the risk
of transmitting COVID-19 is no lower than dining
inside, because once you add four walls and a
roof “any outdoor space becomes an indoor
space,” making ventilation less than ideal, and
static air is what helps transmit the virus,
Crocker said.
Ahlstrom –
Munksjö
Partners with Virgis for HEPA Filters
Ahlstrom-Munksjö has
established a viable partnership with Italian
filter producer Virgis
SpA for
the distribution of an innovative HEPA
filtration solution produced by Webasto.
The innovative solution makes indoor
environments safer against Covid-19 as well as
other viral and bacterial organisms.
Bondex Adds Needlepunch Line in SC
Bondex will expand its manufacturing capacity to
increase its needlepunch nonwovens output and
capabilities thanks to a new investment at its
headquarters in Trenton, SC. The new line will
be supplied by the DiloGroup in Germany and
designed to meet the growing demands of the
filtration, PPE and other industrial markets. In
addition to needlepunch nonwovens, the company
makes hydroentangled and thermal bonded
nonwovens for a wide range of applications.
Mondi Starts Up New Meltblown Line in Germany
Mondi, a global leader in packaging and paper,
has started up new production lines for
meltblown nonwoven fabric and medical face masks
at its site in Gronau, Germany to mitigate the
spread of COVID‑19.
HomTex Receives FDA Approval for Level 1
Surgical Masks
HomTex,
an Alabama-based, minority-certified textile
manufacturer announced that it received FDA
Emergency Use Authorization for its Level 1
Surgical masks, greenlighting their entry into
the U.S. government and medical personal
protective equipment (PPE) markets. HomTex
manufactures three-ply disposable masks and
reusable cloth masks, which it supplies to the
U.S. Capitol, and soon will produce NIOSH N-95
masks in a new plant in Selma, AL. HomTex is now
positioned to have the largest capacity in the
U.S. to produce 100% made-in-America masks with
facilities in Cullman and Mobile, AL; Tennessee;
South Carolina; and North Carolina.
Shawmut and Fallon Launch Protex N95 Masks
Shawmut Corporation, together with its primary
N95 mask production investor, The Fallon
Company, has launched a NIOSH-approved Protex
N95 mask with the patent-pending Protex ADC
all-day-comfort system for prolonged use.
Production lines are now operating, with a goal
of creating up to 10 million masks per month by
year-end to meet continued demand for
domestically produced PPE. The company also
announced a multi-year distribution contract for
its N95 masks with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.
representing one of many early orders for the
Protex N95 particulate respirator.
Hudson Valley Mask Producing Double Filter Masks
Hudson Valley Mask Company (HVMC) announced the
launch of its line of Double Filter Face Masks
that emphasize increased comfort and filtration
through a blend of high-quality Italian nonwoven
fabrics and American raw materials.
Headquartered in New York, Hudson Valley Mask
Company began production shortly before the CDC
released its February 10 report stating that
wearing two masks and proper fit can reduce
exposure to Covid-19 by 90% and 95%
respectively.
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A unique four-layer construction designed to fit
most faces
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Two-layer filtration with premium quality
meltblown fabric created in Milan
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Safety and consistency as verified through
independent testing and certifications
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An ultra-soft, comfortable fit free of latex and
fiberglass
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