‘We Can Kill the Coronavirus:’ Israeli Startup Donates 120,000 Protective Masks

Israeli medical company Sonovia donates 120,000 cutting-edge protective masks to the government, says “we know that we can kill the coronavirus.”

By Benjamin Brown, TPS

With the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) spreading globally and the world longing for medical solutions to the pandemic, all eyes are on labs in Europe, China, the US, and Israel, currently in the process of developing vaccines for Covid-19.

One medical innovation that may not be able to single-handedly end the pandemic but is expected to succeed in slowing the virus’ spread, is protective clothing, most notably masks, manufactured by Israeli medical company Sonovia.

Sonovia specializes in using anti-microbial textiles to prevent patients and employees at hospitals from contracting diseases. Dr. Jason Migdal, a researcher with Sonovia, told TPS that there were “dramatic reductions in hospital infections when our products were used.”

“Cutting-edge nano-coating technology” originally developed at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan allows the company to use sound waves to place chemicals and materials such as copper into textiles, thus ensuring long-term protection against bacteria.

Dr. Migdal says he and his team are “leading the revolution in this field,” with the materials produced by Sonovia “stronger than antibiotics and even working against bacteria resistant to antibiotics.”

As the number of Covid-19 cases grew, research showed that certain materials, including the copper nano-particles used in Sonovia’s materials, were able to kill off the virus.

With the crisis reaching Israel, the company decided to import all of its raw materials from Germany and have them made into protective masks in a factory in Jerusalem. “We have donated 98% of our masks, and merely kept a few for strategic purposes. We will deliver more, as soon as we scale up our production,” Dr. Migdal told TPS.

With 120,000 masks already donated to be distributed among medical workers and employees in critical infrastructure, Sonovia is proud of its achievements. “The heart of our business is truly Israeli. We originated here and are now utilizing out technology for the public good,” Migdal stated.

Migdal would not state whether his company could spell the end to the Coronavirus outbreak. And yet, he is optimistic: “We can say very positively, though, we know that we can kill any bacteria, and kill viruses. Specifically the novel Coronavirus.”