How Face Masks Actually Protect You From COVID-19

Unlike other face masks that rely on physically blocking viral particles to provide protection, our virucidal PPE is uniquely designed to kill 99.9% of SARS-CoV-2 within 5 minutes of contact*.

Face masks have been a regular part of life over the past two years. Along with lockdowns, vaccination drives, and celebrities showing people how to wash their hands, we as a community have had to get used to them.

Despite rising vaccination rates in western countries, it’s still strongly recommended by health professionals that we wear face masks if there are high numbers of COVID-19 cases in the community. This is because, when used correctly, face masks are incredibly effective at reducing infection transmission rates.

What do face masks actually do?

Research is still ongoing to better understand how the coronavirus is transmitted, however the World Health Organisation currently suggests that the majority of cases have developed via close contact with an infected person. ‘Close contact’ relates to people within conversational distance of each other. As an infected person is speaking, sneezing, coughing, or breathing, they’re expelling viral particles into the air which can then reach and infect another person.

There are numerous types of face masks and each protects us in different ways and to different degrees. For instance, surgical masks are typically used by a healthy person to block out large viral particles from a sick person, however, they’re not good at filtering smaller particles and don’t always fit snugly on the face. Whereas an N95 mask can filter out both large and small viral particles making them useful.

How ViraCoat’s masks work

The ViraCoat masks are designed as FFP2 masks. Regulatory standards differ between countries and regions, however we have so far been approved under the EN 149 standard. This means that at a minimum, our face masks filter at least 94% of airborne particles and have an inward leakage of below 8%.

In addition to this high filtration standard, ViraCoat’s face masks are manufactured with an innovative Neutrapodal™ technology. The outer layer of every face mask is embedded with virucidal, antiviral, and antimicrobial agents that work to destroy the viral particles that carry COVID-19. This virucidal coating is also weaved throughout the material used on the rest of the mask, including the ear straps, so unlike other masks it can be touched, removed, and put back on with less risk of transmission.

“Methodologically, upon contact with viruses, the Neutrapodal™ formulation that disrupts the covering of viruses, neutralizes these viruses and makes them unable to reproduce and survive.” — Professor Muhammad Munir

*Based on initial testing results at the time of publication. Our testing program is rigorous and comprehensive, and to date, we are achieving extremely rapid elimination rates of SARS-CoV-2 when it is introduced onto material coated with our virucidal, antiviral and antimicrobial compound. Up-to-date specifications and results are available upon request.