The first mask that inactivates new coronavirus was created in Portugal!

Everyone knows that just because we can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Well, that's the case with the coronavirus, we can't see it, but it exists.

And since the quarantine started, there's been nothing but masks. Surgical masks, cloth masks, of this and that.

The truth is, the cloth masks have had a lot of outlet but whether they're really effective or not... that's another conversation!

However, there is always someone working to improve things and that was the case in Portugal and the first reusable cloth mask.

You may think...ok, but it's just another mask! No, it's not just another mask. It's the first cloth mask, reusable but able to inactivate the new coronavirus, responsible for the proven covid-19. And it was created in Portugal, in a cooperation project between the business, academic and scientific community.

Who said that when the big guys get together, nothing good comes out?

What's at stake is the MOxAd-Tech mask, which "has successfully overcome the tests conducted by the João Lobo Antunes Institute of Molecular Medicine, making it the first mask with the capacity to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus," according to a statement by the consortium responsible for innovation.

This Consortium is made up of the manufacturer Adalberto, the retailer of the Sonae Fashion group (Mo), the Institute of Molecular Medicine João Lobo Antunes, the Technological Centre of the Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal and the University of Minho, this project "of cooperation between the business, academic and scientific community" allowed, then, "the development of a reusable mask of high performance", which besides being made of a fabric with antimicrobial characteristics, now has proven "additional protection".

Needless to say, the said mask was the target of countless tests and after those tests carried out by the Instituto de Medicina Molecular João Lobo Antunes, it was possible to reach the conclusion that "the mask benefits from an innovative coating that neutralizes the SARS-CoV-2 virus when it comes into contact with the tissue, an effect that is maintained even after 50 washes".

Pedro Simas, researcher and virologist of this institute, explains that "the tests to the MOxAdtech mask revealed an effective inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 even after 50 washes, where a viral reduction of 99% was observed after one hour of contact with the virus, according to the parameters of tests indicated in the international standard".

"In a simplified manner, these tests consist of tissue analysis after contact with a solution containing a certain amount of virus, the viability of which is measured over time," the specialist adds.

And not only was the mask created in Portugal, but it's also being produced in Portugal, and it's already being marketed for 10 euros in the country and also throughout the European Union.

This only proves that Portugal may be a small country but it also has big heads.

And although the price does not seem the nicest, we must not forget that we are talking about masks, which in addition to being cloth, are breathable, will be reused and make the damn virus unusable.

It is true that this is only a small step and that it is not the cure. But it's small steps that make the big walks. Moreover, while we do not have the vaccine available and in production for all this is not at all the worst solution.

This is because our reality has changed a lot, and although I don't want to, or believe that it will be forever, I know that it will take a little longer, and we might as well have something that really protects us and makes us feel more reassured when we send our children to school wearing masks (as long as the rascals don't take them off).

It's true, my friends, our lives have changed! The way we live has changed! How we socialize has also changed and will leave scars. The year 2020 will be recorded in the history books forever!