Models like Naomi Campbell and Kendal Jenner are seen “covered.” In addition, you can eat in some places with remote control masks

With masks, our personality and that of those around us, will experience profound changes in behavior. Not only will we become more distant, out of precaution, but more distrustful, because of hygiene and because of the intentions of the masked people around us.

Maybe we no longer have to hide with false smiles or expressions that annoy others. What yes, for our readers in this sector, plastic will have repositioned itself in the “new economy of distancing” because it is seen as the best option to put a stop to infections before a vaccine appears that makes us more carefree.

Today, plastic represents the best option to dispose of hundreds of tons (in May there were 300 tons) of infectious biological waste that has been generated so far, such as masks, gloves and gowns, according to data from the Semarnat (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources), due to its sanitary utility.

We will depend more and more on plastic, and not only now, in the middle of the reddest traffic light of the pandemic in Mexico, but for when this ends and leads to a new reality that, like everything new, will make us different.

Origin of the mask

Face masks first appeared in the late 19th century. Doctors, during surgeries and to avoid bacteria in the air, used them as a protection measure.

In those years, the works of William Halsted attracted attention. He was the inventor of rubber gloves and who began operating in sterile gloves and gown in 1897. Then, in 1910, masks were adopted by the Chinese authorities to prevent the spread of pneumonic plague, and became very symbols. emblematic for physicians.

Eight years later, when they were widely adopted as protection against the Spanish flu, they became a global phenomenon. The mask was accepted as part of life.

Many later, closer to us, in the 1990s, Peter Tsai invented the N95 mask, and during the coronavirus pandemic, he returned from retirement to investigate how to improve his invention and how to disinfect without damaging the material.

The N95 mask or N95 face shield filters out particles and meets the N95 standard of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). N means that it does not filter oils, and 95, that it filters up to 95% of airborne particles.

If we look at it with a magnifying glass, it is a fine mesh of synthetic polymer fibers, or non-woven Polypropylene (PP) fabric, which is produced through a highly specialized process called melt blowing that forms the internal filtration layer that filters out dangerous particles.

Fashion prevails

Famous models, taking advantage of social networks, show how this protective garment can be worn; Naomi Campbell, Kendal Jenner and even Gwyneth Paltrow … are seen as “covered”, and designers such as Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Off White take advantage of the great demand for masks that there is worldwide and rush to create a mask that allows eating .

A “restaurant chinstrap” was recently created. A mask that, through a remote control, opens to eat or drink, without having to remove it with your hands. In this way, the risk of contagion can be reduced.

The garment was patented by the Avtipus company and Asaf Gitelis, one of the developers, who exhibited the product in Tel Aviv. “The mask will open mechanically, remotely or automatically when the fork reaches it. Then you can eat, enjoy, drink and, when you take out the fork, it will close and be protected against the virus ”, commented Gitelis.

Another invention that attracted the media was the mask that makes the virus lose its effectiveness to infect in less than a minute, after coming into contact with an “electro-chemical tissue”, a term that has to do with the possibility of treating the condition with electricity.

One more interesting is a mask made of plastic, with an ultraviolet light system, which eliminates bacteria and germs inside the mask, through a power source connected by a USB port. The Amazfit company, a technological subsidiary of Huami (Xiaomi manufacturer), announced the new model called “Project Aeri”.

Finally, the development of a mask was announced that would give fluorescent signals when detecting if the wearer has signs of the coronavirus. Jim Collins, a bioengineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with his team of scientists from MIT and Harvard, searched for a tool to detect the Ebola virus.

Even, they had already managed to detect the viruses that cause: SARS, measles, influenza and hepatitis C, and now they are working so that the model of their sensors identifies signs of the new coronavirus in people through the design of a mask at the time that the person breathes, coughs, or sneezes.

The age of mistrust

In fact, with everything and a mask, we are going to become more distrustful. A CNN note states that “Western populations have largely obeyed instructions to stay home. Even closure efforts in many countries have been so effective that governments are now reflecting on how to gradually lift restrictions without alarming citizens. “

And what about the eastern societies, which are emerging from their domestic confinement with exemplary discipline. However, the covered face, in case the flies, is something that is here to stay. Wearing the masks will help people gain confidence that they will be able to return to work. Maybe not like before, but masks will be most useful.

However, the prospect of a new society in which people hide their faces from others will have broad implications for crime and safety, as well as for social interaction.

“The main problem with masks is the sheer volume of people suddenly covering their faces,” said Francis Dodsworth, senior lecturer in criminology at Kingston University near London: “It could create opportunities for people who they want to cover their faces for dire reasons. Now they could do it without raising suspicions. “

Facial recognition will be a highly appreciated skill, under the circumstances, as the mask could complicate the investigation of crimes. How to identify a criminal? Did she wear a beard or not? In CCTV images facial recognition helped clarify controversies, and was considered evidence; And now, what will it be like in the future?

Eilidh Noyes, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Huddersfield, in the north of England, does not yet know how facial masks will affect the identification of human faces: “When you see a face you do two things at the same time. You try to discover the identity: do I know it? Where do I know her from? And you try to read their emotions, “said Noyes.

And it is that “… the recognition of emotions is important from an evolutionary perspective, since it helps us to evaluate threats and can also facilitate positive social interactions. That is true both for people we know well and for those we have never met. “

Without a doubt, masks are going to affect the way we humans interact. The CNN note concludes with an ominous question: “How will countries deal with populations that are more nervous in the company of others and more suspicious of their fellow citizens?”