The omicron variant of Covid is already the dominant one in the Canary Islands , accounting for 54.8 percent of infections in the week of December 13th to 19th, according to the latest 'Update of the epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV variants- 2 in Spain ', published this Monday by the Ministry of Health.
The report also reveals that omicron represented 20.5 percent of the samples analyzed by Health throughout Spain in that week. Specifically, it represents 55.4% in Madrid, 35.21% of the Basque Country infections, 34% in Castilla-La Mancha, 28.8% in Extremadura, 28.4% in Navarra, 23% percent in the Valencian Community, 21 percent in Galicia, 20.3 percent in Cantabria and 20 percent in Catalonia.
Lanzarote currently stands is the highest of the entire pandemic on the island since the record was set on January 28th, during the third wave, when Lanzarote reached 1,121. Now currently standing at 1,321 active cases.
Mask Check!
Many health organizations are recommending a higher grade of mask. A typical cloth mask, while better than nothing, only provides around 30-60% protection to the wearer. Surgical masks, while better at 40-80%, lack a tight fit to the face, resulting in large amounts of leakage around the mask.
One might assume based on the technical name, “respirator”, that these would be some Darth Vader-style headpiece – cumbersome and difficult to breathe in. However it’s quite the opposite. These masks feature a high-tech material called electrostatically charged meltblown polypropylene (quite a mouthful). It features tightly spaced micron-sized fibres – about 1/50th the diameter of a human hair – that have an electrostatic charge applied to them to catch even smaller particles. This material can filter particles that are a just a few nanometres in size.
The most amazing thing, though, is that while providing nearly 99% protection from typical Covid respiratory aerosols, these materials also provide breathability that surpasses that of a typical three-layer cloth mask.
When picking a mask you want to look at three criteria: filtration, comfort and fit. Respirators provide not only the filtration, but comfort from highly breathable materials, and a tight sealing to the face by the design of the mask.
This is what makes respirators such an easy option: you need not worry about anything other than finding one that fits your face. This ensures that all the air flows through the mask, not around it.
Not all masks are created equal, so it’s time to make sure everyone knows about high-filtration masks. These simple, inexpensive and super-effective masks can make a significant difference in our fight against Covid. If you wear a mask, you might as well make it count
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