Coronavirus is changing the world in unprecedented ways. Subscribe here for a twice-weekly briefing on how this global crisis is affecting cities, technology, approaches to climate change, and the lives of vulnerable people.
By Beh Lih Yi
Aug 26 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – From masks with ice packs to cooling sprays, products designed to make wearing a coronavirus-protective face covering more bearable in sweltering summer heat have become a hit in Japan.
Wearing a face mask outdoors has become mandatory in many cities as governments seek to contain the spread of COVID-19, which has killed more than 800,000 people around the world.
But medical experts have warned rising temperatures also mean rising potential for heat illnesses, particularly when wearing a face covering, as this summer shapes up to be one of the hottest on record.
Tapping into demand for solutions to both problems, Japanese firms have launched items aimed at keeping mask wearers cooler, with sports brand Descente introducing a face covering that comes with cooling packs.
“We wanted to do what we could in our current environment, where wearing a mask has become mandatory because of the wide spread of COVID-19 infection” said Tomoko Kitazawa, a spokeswoman at Descente, best known for its ski apparel.
The company’s mask “is recommended not only for people who play sports but also for people who work outside”, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by email.
More than half of the 2,000 face guards produced have been sold since they went on sale early August, the firm added.
