The Lebanese physicist Maher Othman developed a protective suit that can protect from the emerging coronavirus (COVID-19). The suit is said to “kill the highly infectious virus.”
Othman explained to Al-Akhbar Newspaper that the design aims to kill the coronavirus as soon as it comes into contact with the suit. The suit mainly depends on its high temperature and the effect of high temperate theoretically on the coronavirus.
It is well known that viruses in general are sensitive to high temperature, which is why fevers are more common during the winter than that during the summer.
A team of professors at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China, produced a study that shows how temperate significantly changes the coronavirus transmission. They confirmed that “the virus is highly sensitive to high temperature.”
The Lebanese physicist clarified that the protective suit is created for individuals who are present in areas affected with the coronavirus, as well as for paramedics.
Othman, born and raised in Baalbek, previously won the gold medal and the German Inventors Award for his project called The Concealment Suit for Thermal Observing Systems at the 2018 International Exhibition of Inventions and New Ideas (iENA), Germany.
According to Al-Akhbar, the award-winning project helps paramedics hide from war mechanisms during armed conflicts.
However, Othman did not mention if the protective suit recently created has been tested on paramedics yet. He also did not mention if it can be used as an alternative to medical hazmat suits that can cost up to $600 each.
Medical workers in Lebanon and around the world have been suffering from the shortage of medical equipment, especially ventilators and hazmat suits. Once medical workers take off their hazmat suits, the suit needs to be thrown away.
In Wuhan, earlier in February, Chinese medical workers were offered diapers by hospitals so they can go for hours without needing to use the bathroom and change their suits.
These medical hazmat suits are made of plastic, fabric, and rubber, along with an independent source of oxygen. They act as a protective barrier from the virus but does not necessarily kill it.
Othman’s invention of the protective suit can come as revolutionary amid a major shortage in hazmat suits along with their high costs. The suit, according to his interview with Al-Akhbar, not only protects the individual from the coronavirus but also kills it.
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