The South African Zionist Federation (SAZF) brought Israeli technology into South Africa to assist with the Covid-19 pandemic. The SAZF has partnered with Israeli startup Sonovia Tech to donate cutting-edge medical-masks to Hatzolah Medical Rescue. This supports Hatzolah’s critical life-saving work on the frontlines.
SonoMasks are coated with Zinc Oxide to ensure antimicrobial protection. They are dual-layered with an adjustable fitting, and the anti-pathogen fabric provides particle filtration efficiency above 98% of 5 microns diameter, and prevents 99.99% of bacteria (including antibiotic-resistant bacteria) from passing through. The durable protection that these masks ensure is suitable for medical workers including those fighting Covid-19. The SonoMask is reusable, unlike many other medical masks, and has a washable fabric that lasts for up to a year. This reduces the need to continuously replace medical masks for frontline medical workers.
Due to the high costs of importing these highly sought after medical-grade masks from Israel, SonoviaTech agreed to share the patent with us and allowed us to produce them locally, following all the necessary guidelines and steps. A pilot programme to make the masks has commenced with the Union of Jewish Women’s (UJW) Sewing Empowerment School, to make the masks using material that has come into the country. The masks are currently undergoing the necessary certification, trials, and costs. These masks will soon be produced at a fraction of the cost and will be further distributed across other South African Jewish communal organisations, other health care facilities, and front line workers. It is also hoped that these masks will be made available for the general public. We are strongly behind the technology of these medical grade-masks, which have been used extensively in Israel in medical settings, and even for the new Tour De France cycling team.
