The World Health Organization has said that the coronavirus can stay to surfaces for several days. People may unknowingly catch the virus from touching these contaminated surfaces when they touch their eyes, nose or mouth.
With vaccines and cures not yet available, the best way to fight this pandemic is through prevention. It includes disinfecting hospital surfaces, as well as medical centers, offices, homes and elsewhere.
In cooperation with Corning Inc., a US-based and New York-listed technology company, Nippon Paint's Antivirus Kids Paint was able to develop a coating designed for use in hospitals that can repel the coronavirus to prevent COVID-19 from further infecting healthcare workers.
Virus-killer- paint
The paint has tested to be 99.9 percent effective against the Feline Calicivirus an upper respiratory infection in cats, according to Microchem Laboratory a Texas-based facility. Feline Calicivirus was approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency as a suitable replacement for detecting human coronavirus, reported by the South China Morning Post.
The Japanese company integrated the Corning Guardiant Antimicrobial Particles which is a nascent technology designed to safeguard against viruses from adhering to hospital surfaces.
Dr. Joydeep Lahiri, division vice-president and program director at Corning Inc. said in a statement on Thursday that the paint they created offers an additional layer of protection by reducing the risk of infection from the virus on painted surfaces.
President Eric Chug of Nippon Paint, China, said that the coronavirus has prompted the company to become highly innovative and that they are happy to be working with Corning Inc. in completing the development, testing, and production of the antivirus coating.
Furthermore, Chung also said that they hope this will give frontline healthcare workers valuable support and will give them greater confidence as they combat the virus because together we will win this battle.
The new coating is also effective in killing harmful bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia Coli (E. Coli), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Nippon Kids Paint is TÜV and GREENGUARD certified and environmentally friendly.
Although it was originally developed for hospital and health care environments, the company is planning to eventually make it useful for surfaces on cruise ships, passenger ferries, and other commercial vessels as well.
Nippon Paint Marine, a subsidiary of Nippon Paint manufactures and sells paints used in marine industries. It is under the DuluxGroup, Australia's biggest paint maker, which was bought by the Tokyo-listed Nippon Paint last August for $2.3 billion.
Donations amid the pandemic
Companies and individuals have started donating to relief efforts. Nippon Paint and Corning have already donated $706,897 to four hospitals in Hubei province, home to Wuhan where the coronavirus first started.
Among the four hospitals in Hubei who received their donation are Xiangyang No. 1 People's hospital, Xiangyang Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital, Xiangyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Suixian People's Hospital.
Additionally, the chief executive of Baring Private Equity Asia, Jean-Eric Salata, and four other investment committee members have donated their annual salaries to local Asian organizations in support of the fight against COVID-19.
In total, the executives and the firm's donation have reached $5 million, said the Hong Kong-headquartered private-equity firm on Thursday.
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