Some U.S. States Reporting Highest Infection Rates in the World

Erie Pennsylvania  YMCA Installing Efficient Filtration System

AECOM will Monitor Wastewater for COVID in Bergen County, NJ

California Requires Face Masks in All Businesses

$240 Billion Mask Market

Freudenberg Offers a Type II Medical Mask with Nose Clip for Individual Adjustment

Medicevo Graphene Face Mask is Reusable for 15 Days

MHI Now Offers Four Layer Face Masks

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Some U.S. States Reporting Highest Infection Rates in the World

Arizona, California and Rhode Island are among the hardest-hit places in the world at this stage of the pandemic, with the highest rates of Covid-19 infections per capita, according to a data analysis by NBC News.

The sobering figures, reflected as rolling seven-day averages of new reported cases, highlight just how dire the situation is in the U.S., particularly as a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus has emerged in several states.

Arizona currently has the highest per-capita rate of new Covid-19 infections, with 785 cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days. That rate not only leads the U.S., but is the highest in the world, according to NBC News data. For comparison, the Czech Republic, the country with the highest per-capita rate of infection, has reported 653 cases per 100,000 over the past seven days.

Rhode Island and California also have higher per-capita rates of infection than any other country. Over the past seven days, Rhode Island reported 671 new cases per 100,000, and California had 658 per 100,000.

The U.S. reported an average of 451 new cases per 100,000 a day over the past seven days. That is the 10th highest countrywide rate in the world, though several of the nations that are ahead of the U.S. — including San Marino and Lichtenstein — are much smaller.

The staggeringly high rates of infection foretell the challenges that lie ahead, and experts are still expecting to see increases associated with the holidays, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urging people to avoid gatherings and limit travel.

The trends are especially worrisome for states that are already under siege. Hospitals in California have been overwhelmed as the state grapples with record numbers of daily deaths and hospitalizations.

In Los Angeles County, which saw its case numbers increase by 905 percent since Nov. 1, 10 people are getting sick with Covid-19 every minute, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said Sunday in an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

Here are the hotspots around the world.  This is based on new  daily cases per 100,000 people and ranges from less than 4 represented by the lightest shade and over 64 with the darkest.

Erie Pennsylvania  YMCA Installing Efficient Filtration System

Erie's 110-year-old Downtown YMCA building is receiving a ventilation and air purification overhaul.

Crews have been working since early December to install a new HVAC system and upgrade existing HVAC systems at the landmark seven-storystructure.

The $113,000 project is expected to be completed in mid-to-late January and is funded by a $40,000 state grant and $73,000 from the nonprofit's maintenance reserve account, said Gerry Van DeMerwe, the chief executive of the YMCA of Greater Erie.  

The facility has remained closed to members since shortly after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic because of ventilation and facility limitations and social distancing challenges. 

"I think given the COVID situation, we wanted to make sure we have the best purified air we could have," Van DeMerwe said. "We think it's a priority when our members visit and we have the best available technology and the best air purification system so people feel safe when they are here. We put safety as the number one priority in our organization."  

AECOM will Monitor Wastewater for COVID in Bergen County, NJ

AECOM is partnering with Bergen County Utilities Authority (BCUA) and Columbia University to monitor COVID-19 ribonucleic acid (RNA) in wastewater in the BCUA sewer shed. Wastewater testing can be a leading indication of infection rates when trends of COVID-19 RNA are monitored over time.

“We’re honored to partner with Bergen County Utilities Authority and Columbia University to leverage this innovative approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic,” said Lara Poloni, AECOM’s president. “Our wastewater experts are working alongside our partners to establish sampling regiments, analyze test results, and present data that can inform public health decisions and help our communities.”

Since the project’s first phase commenced last spring, the team has collected, tested, and analyzed more than 650 samples, with results indicating that wastewater monitoring statistically provides a seven- to ten-day leading indicator of reported COVID-19 cases.

“Wastewater testing provides objective evidence that does not rely on individuals getting tested, giving us an anonymous overall picture of community health,” said Julien Neals, Bergen County Administrator. “By continuing to partner with AECOM and Columbia University on this program’s expansion, we will be able to conduct a more comprehensive, systematic study that gives us the best available data to help determine emerging hotspots, inform public policy, and assist with the creation of infrastructure to evaluate vaccine effectiveness, once it is available to the public.”

Testing for COVID-19 RNA, which can be secreted by infected individuals prior to the display of symptoms, in wastewater may deliver valuable, early information around trends in infection rates and provide advantages in tracking hot spots and developing proactive mitigation strategies. The resulting anonymous data should equip public health and emergency management officials with a continuous method of community monitoring to inform decisions around social distancing protocols, shelter-in-place orders, targeted testing, reopening strategies, and vaccine deployment.

“Through our work with BCUA and Columbia University, we have seen impressive results demonstrating that wastewater testing provides an early signal of infection rates,” said Paul Storella, senior vice president with AECOM’s water business. “This critical program may assist government officials, first responders, and communities proactively manage surges in COVID-19 cases up to two weeks ahead of spikes.”

For the pilot program, the project team collected samples at the Little Ferry Water Pollution Control Facility six days per week at six different points within the plant and at various points within the sewer collection system. Molecular testing – specifically, RT-qPCR testing – was then completed to determine the COVID-19 RNA concentrations and statistical analysis was performed to develop time series trends that correlated to actual reported cases.

AECOM, BCUA, and Columbia University will continue this work as the program is expanded.

 

California Requires Face Masks in All Businesses

California recently enacted its own extensive COVID-19 emergency rules for business and industry. Issued in late November by the California Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board, the regulations apply to all places of employment except for:

• Those with employees working at home
• Those with only one employee who has no contact with other people
• Those already covered by Cal/OSHA’s aerosol transmission standard

Employers must provide face masks and require workers to wear them, and they must separate employees by six feet or install cleanable solid partitions. They have to implement cleaning and disinfection procedures and maximize ventilation with outside air, to the extent that it's feasible.

Employers need to report and keep records of COVID cases, exclude exposed or infected workers from the workplace, provide free testing during COVID-19 outbreaks or "major" outbreaks (the number of cases in a specific time period determine the definition as well as mitigation and testing requirements), and create return-to-work criteria. Employees are entitled to paid time off if they are excluded from the work place because of exposure or infection.

In addition, if employers provide transportation or housing to their employees, they also must:

·         Use higher efficiency air filters in mechanical ventilation systems, if possible

·         Protect workers using employer-provided housing and transportation.

 

$240 Billion Mask Market

We are now making forecasts of the number of masks and revenue for several mask types to be used in public places.

It is proposed that the economy of the world be reopened based on a safe bubble concept. Any facility operating in a safe bubble could resume near normal operations. The advantage is instant implementation. The local government would be quick to allow the fitness center or school to reopen with full occupancy if the safe bubble could be achieved. Let’s address the hurdles to insuring maximum impact in 2021.

• Hurdle 1 - Regulatory framework: Instant acceptance of the safe bubble initiative is likely.
• Hurdle 2 - Ability to deliver: A mix of upgraded disposable and reusable masks reduce  numbers to an achievable target.
• Hurdle 3 - Funding:  In wealthy countries the promise of near normal operation will be a sufficient driver.  In poor countries subsidies will be needed.

Disposable masks create two problems. One is media availability and the other is a tight fit.  An alternative is Comfortable, Attractive, Tight Fitting, Efficient, Reusable masks (CATER Mask). Production could be ramped  up quickly. The wealthy countries can afford these masks  and will consume the bulk of them in the early months. As the vaccine takes effect and mask demand diminishes CATER masks can be supplied to the poorer countries. Long term there would be increased use for air pollution and wildfire protection.  

CATER mask suppliers  could quickly ramp up delivery to wealthy countries with the assurance that the poorer countries and non COVID demand would provide a longer term market.

This strategy would put severe strain on suppliers to scale up to meet the demand in the needed time frame. It also provides no short term solution for the poorer countries.

The most effective strategy will be to upgrade disposable masks to insure a tight fit and to use these in combination with CATER masks. Projections have been made on the assumption that  three billion people will be wearing masks for the next two years.  The number of people wearing poor disposable masks will be reduced from 1.5 billion in the second quarter to less than 100 million by the end of 2022.  

In the second quarter of this year over 1 billion people would be wearing  upgraded disposable masks with auxiliary seal devices. CATER Masks would be worn by 1.4 billion people in the fourth quarter.

CATER masks can be worn for up to 90 days. Upgraded disposable masks could be worn for shorter periods. The life of the poor disposable masks is highly variable.  Here are the estimated number of masks and revenues by mask type.

 

The following graph shows the number of masks per quarter. The total would decrease from 18 billion in the second quarter of 2021 to just 4 billion by the end of 2022. At that point there would be 2.8 billion CATER masks produced per quarter.

 

Mask revenues would rise to $40 billion in the second quarter. Upgraded disposable revenues would peak in the third quarter and then steadily drop as the CATER capacity grows.

CATER mask revenues would rise to $60 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. This would include substantial sales for protection from wild fires, and other air contaminants. It would also include considerable revenues for courtesy masks.

Mask revenues of $240 billion per year are an order of magnitude higher than any previous filtration market.  But never has a filter been mandated for all the people in the world. Millions have died and trillions of dollars in economic activity lost due to the absence of tight fitting efficient masks. The filtration industry has a unique opportunity to rectify the situation.

 

Freudenberg Offers a Type II Medical Mask with Nose Clip for Individual Adjustment

Freudenberg Filtration Technologies has developed a high-quality mask that has now been certified as a TYPE II medical face mask (EN 14683). It combines effective health protection with first-class wearing comfort. Freudenberg has completed all the necessary certifications within just a few weeks. Companies are able to purchase large quantities from the middle of October.

“At the heart of our medical face masks is a soft three-layer polypropylene filter medium that is characterized by its superior breathability,” explains Dr. Thomas Caesar, director Global Filter Engineering Industrial Filtration.

To effectively protect exposed individuals, the special structure of the three layers reduces the release of aerosols contaminated with viruses and bacteria. External laboratory tests confirm a filtration efficiency of more than 98% in aerosol separation.

The soft nonwoven fabric also offers optimum wearing comfort and facilitates easy breathing. The independent dermatological institute Dermatest has rated the product's skin compatibility as "excellent." Elastic ear loops and a nose clip allow Freudenberg Filtration Technologies' mouth-nose protection to be individually adjusted and ensure a comfortable fit. This complete “Made in Germany” package makes the masks a comfortable companion in everyday working life.

An important factor for the paint industry is that the medical face masks are LABS-compliant in accordance with standard 24364 (test class B) of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA). This means that employees can safely wear them even in industrial painting environments, as they do not cause contamination with substances that impair paint wetting (LABS).

Freudenberg Filtration Technologies only supplies its certified face mask to companies that order 7,500 units or more. For small household quantities, Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions also sells the medical face masks under the Collectex brand to consumers and companies from mid of October.

Medicevo Graphene Face Mask is Reusable for 15 Days

Medicevo Corporation, a subsidiary of Corporate Universe Inc., has launched its Graphene Face Mask, which it says is proven to filter 98 percent of COVID-19 particles. Medicevo’s Graphene Face Mask has been evaluated using the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for medical face masks.

 
Medicevo’s Graphene Face Mask uses a patented production process that implants graphene into the fabric of the mask directly, creating a microscopic sharp-edged netting. When a virus comes in contact with Medicevo’s Graphene Face Mask, the graphene netting slices through the virus particle, killing it. The masks are scientifically proven to kill COVID-19 particles and other types of infectious diseases like the seasonal flu, which is key for disease control and prevention.
 
In order to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in hospitals, PPE must pass tests for flammability, differential pressure, particle filtration efficiency and bacterial filtration efficiency (BFE), and fluid resistance. Medicevo’s Graphene Face Mask has passed flammability testing and has scored a 4.2 out of 5 for differential breathability pressure. In addition, the masks scored a 98 percent BFE and a 96 percent particle filtration efficiency. The masks have passed level two for fluid resistance.
 
“Our collective understanding of COVID-19 has greatly expanded since the start of the pandemic, as well as how to protect ourselves,” said Isaac Sutton, president, Medicevo Corporation. “Medicevo has taken the most advanced graphene technology and perfected the process of infusing it into our face mask’s fabric to create a PPE that is safer than the N95 respirator, which was widely considered the gold standard of safety until this point.”

Medicevo’s Graphene Face Mask features four layers of protection. The outer layer comprises high-quality antibacterial, non-woven fabric with strong air permeability but isolates droplets and large particles. The graphene layer and patented plating technology kill more than 99 percent of viruses and germs. A melt-blown cloth layer creates an isolation and dustproof effect, filtering particles less than 0.3 microns in size. Finally, a skin-friendly inner lining with honeycomb-woven fabric and adjustable ear loops stretch over the wearer’s nose and mouth to ensure a secure and airtight fit.
 
Medicevo is the exclusive distributor of the state-of-the-art Medicevo Graphene Face Mask in the United States and Canada. The masks are reusable for up to 15 days.

MHI Now Offers Four Layer Face Masks

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Thermal Systems Ltd., part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, will sell Beaver branded facemasks to the Japanese market. The facemasks branded as 'The Beaver Mask' are a single-use, general purpose (non-medical) mask that uses the same filter technology found in MHI Beaver Air Conditioners.

While typical masks only use a one-to-three layer structure, the Beaver Mask has a four-layer structure. The additional layers improve efficiencies in catching droplets from viruses, bacteria, and pollen. Between layers, the mask integrates Japanese-made microfiber and allergen clear filters.

The filters between the outside and insider layers of the nonwoven fabric create a fine-mesh filter structure that have a 99% Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE)(Note1) and Particle Filtration Efficiency (PFE)(Note2) rate. Laboratory testing also confirms that the mask also prevents virus and allergen reproduction and re-dispersion at a 99% inactivation rate. (Note3)

• 1Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) is the proportion (%) of bacteria and other particles with a mean particle size of 4.0 to 5.0μm removed by the filter.
• 2Particle Filtration Efficiency (PFE) s the proportion (%) of 0.1μm test particles (polystyrene latex sphere particles) removed by the filter.
• 3This is the result of the virus inactivation test for the allergen clear filter (Testing laboratory: Kitasato Research Center for Environmental Science).

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Beaver Air Conditioners, the masks will sell on Amazon.co.jp in boxes of 30 pieces (3 pieces per bag x 10 bags). The box, and masks, will feature an illustration of the popular beaver character from the Beaver Air Conditioners.

From the two million masks MHI Thermal Systems plans to produce and the company will donate masks free of charge to some nearby municipalities.

MHI Thermal Systems will continue to use its accumulated technology and expertise to contribute to society.

Beaver Mask specifications (Box type: 3 pieces per bag x 10 bags)