Hospitals across the world are looking to reuse face masks as demand increases sharply amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tens of thousands of medical staff require masks and other protective equipment every day, increasing the pressure on the global supply.
In early March, the World Health Organisation estimated 89 million masks would be needed each month and called on manufacturers to boost production.
Increasing demand has led mask prices to more than triple, with bans on exporting personal protective equipment also a contributing factor.
This month, Peter Tsai, a Taiwanese-American materials scientist who developed a patented filtration fabric used in N95 masks, said heating a used mask to 70°C for 24 hours could destroy the virus, while only reducing the effectiveness of the mask by 0.5 per cent.
But in a study published online on Friday, scientists in the US identified two other methods that rendered the virus harmless.
Their techniques had even less of an effect on mask performance.
The US researchers found vaporised hydrogen peroxide caused “extremely rapid inactivation” of the virus on N95 masks and had little effect on the masks’ ability to filter out particles.
They also found UV light destroyed the virus more slowly than vaporised hydrogen peroxide, but had a minimal effect on mask effectiveness.
Because of its effect on the masks’ ability to filter out particles, heating at 70°C was recommended by the US researchers for no more than two decontamination cycles.
Another method, washing masks with 70 per cent ethanol, also made the virus inactive quickly but led to “sharp drops” in mask performance, the researchers said.
The scientists, led by Dr Robert Fischer of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said they preferred the vaporised hydrogen peroxide method.
In online guidance, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said decontamination and reuse should be carried out only as a “crisis capacity strategy”.
Based on findings that the virus does not remain viable on surfaces for more than 72 hours, it suggested issuing healthcare workers with five masks, with one used each day.
It said each mask should be placed in a paper bag at the end of a shift and reused only five days later.
With this method, masks could be reused up to five times, although they should be thrown out before this if they are visibly damaged, if the straps no longer give a tight fit, or if there is visible contamination with bodily fluids or make-up.
Among the hospitals with processes in place to reuse masks is the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi.
This month, the hospital began using ultraviolet light to decontaminate N95 masks. The technique deactivates the virus particles.
Jason Unger, a processing manager at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, said the efforts would help the hospital should there be any “supply chain problems”.
“We want to make sure we can give N95 masks to all of our caregivers," Mr Unger said.
Several ways to decontaminate masks have been found to be unsafe, including baking, boiling, bleaching, or using soapy water or sanitising wipes.
Experts also said masks should not be microwaved at home, because the power settings of appliances vary and metal components could catch fire.
People using simple cloth masks are advised by the California Department of Health to wash them with hot, soapy water after each use, or at least daily, before drying them on a hot cycle.
The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Joe Root (captain), Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Craig Overton, Stuart Broad, James Anderson
500 People from Gaza enter France
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25 Evacuation of injured and sick
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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