Covid-19: South Korea’s new mask for safe eating draws criticism – News

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The company that made the masks says wearers will be protected from the virus when eating or drinking

By web office

Posted: Sat 5 Feb 2022, 10:49

A new face mask that only covers the nose and can be worn while eating or drinking is now on sale in South Korea.

The “kosk” – a combination of “ko”, which means nose in Korean, and mask – is made by a South Korean company called Atman. A box of 10 kosk costs 9,800 won ($8.16) on online retailer Coupang.

Meanwhile, reusable “copper anti-virus nose masks,” which only cover the nose at all times and are available in various colors, retail for 2,000 won ($1.65) on the site. Spar Clone Fabric website.

These unusual masks come in sets of two pieces each, where one piece is a common virus mask, while the other is a nose-specific mask to be worn inside the first piece.

The company says removing the outer mask and keeping the kosk in place while eating can protect people, as the nasal passage is believed to be the main entry route for viruses, such as Covid-19.

However, the kosks have mostly drawn criticism from the online community.

“Wow, the most useless idea and a waste of resources… If the virus is airborne, it will still enter through your open mouth while eating,” one Twitter user said.

Another said: “It’s no different from people wearing their mask under their nose.”

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According to a report by The Guardian, Professor Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at the Institute for Health Transformation at Deakin University in Australia, told Nine News that masks that do not cover that the nose were a “strange idea”, but would be “better than nothing”. The difference it makes, however, is probably ‘marginal’, she said.

The nose-only face mask concept is not new and was devised by Mexican researchers in March 2021, but with limited success.

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