THE granting of rights to Zimbabwean company, Africawide Zimbabwe through its subsidiary Africawide Health to exclusively distribute the newly patented Singapore developed Gill Mask in Sub Saharan Africa is expected to lower Covid-19 infections and preserve the environment in the region.
This comes as the outbreak of the Covid-19 cases has been increasing in the region, with Zimbabwe having recorded 70 426 infections so far, with a quarter of them occurring in the last two weeks and 2 236 deaths, official data show. Over 900 000 Zimbabweans received their first dose Covid-19 vaccine.
It also comes as the issue of preserving the environment and developing environmentally friendly gadgets has been taking centre stage in the world.
Africawide Chief Executive Officer, Douglas Chiimba said Gill Mask was one of the first masks that is seriously trying to combat the issue of waste.
While some masks such as MeoAir masks take the approach of making biodegradable filters, Gill Mask takes the approach of making a mask that allows for the use of replaceable and very small filters.
“In a time such as the present, when masks are essential in many areas, the issue of mask waste is greater than ever before. Millions of masks are used every day, and few of them are environmentally friendly,” he said.
“ Gill Mask is affordable as it allows one to use any other filters and easily cleanable. The mask is also environmentally friendy,” Chiimba said.
The other benefit of the Gill Mask is that it does not require specific filters. Rather, you can place any filter within the mask. Since the actual filtering surface is also very small, there are a large range of different mask filters that you can place in the Gill Mask.
Not only does this filter system make the mask more environmentally friendly, but it also means that the mask is cheaper to use. Since the filters are so small, you can easily cut three or four filters from any larger filter. This is especially important in times of mask shortages.
“The silicone and plastic design of the mask also means that it is exceptionally easy to clean. Currently, the most recommended disinfection methods involve heat and/or water, and the plastic nature of the Gill Mask means that both of these methods work very well – just remember to remove the filter first,” he said.
“Of course, the plastic design also means that the mask is very easy to dry. Whereas cloth masks will often need to sit for at least one day to dry, the Gill Mask can easily be dried by hand,” said Chiimba