Perspective: Covid-19; emerging strategies and material technologies

Abstract

It will be remembered in history as the event that brought the world together with science and technology; the COVID-19 pandemic has allowed for decades worth of progression in both healthcare policies and technology development. It has been a show of unprecedented global health policies ranging from the legal requirement for public facemask use to the use of tough movement restrictions that has bought the world’s economy to its knees. Here, we observe the impact of national lockdowns, facemask usage, and their effect on infection rates. It is clear that healthcare policies alone cannot tackle a pandemic. There is a huge pressure to develop personal protective equipment that not only has the capacity to prevent transmission but also has the ergonomics to be worn for long durations. In this work, we reveal our views and thoughts on the healthcare policies and developing materials and technology strategies that have contributed to reduce the damage of the pandemic, coming from the perspectives of materials scientists and a UK National Health Service consultant doctor.

Graphene‐Based Nanocomposites as Antibacterial, Antiviral and Antifungal Agents

“…As this is the case, researchers are curious about the role of graphene and its derivatives in preventing COVID‐19 due to its antimicrobial properties. [ 183,184,207,208 ] Personal protection equipment have been one of the most important areas in dealing with COVID‐19, especially face mask use has been supported by the World Health Organization, to prevent the spread of the virus among people. With the emergence of the virus and the threat to the world, the antiviral activities of the protective face masks, have accelerated this research.…”

Analysis of the Government and Capital Market’s Response to Normalized Epidemic Prevention and Control Based on the Development of Smart Health Care

“…In terms of medical talent allocation, Padilla-Elías concluded that emergency talent was currently a major shortcoming of public hospitals in public health emergency response [ 16 ]. In material and equipment security analysis, Ahmed et al constructed a decision-making model for major public health emergencies based on the spatial and temporal characteristics, key events, transmission dynamics, spatial distribution, infection scale, information characteristics, and medical resource dimensions [ 17 ]. Hu et al established observation indicators that significantly promoted the clarification of prevention and control priorities, achieved early warning effects, clarified the reserve direction of emergency medical resources, and prevented the recurrence and spread of COVID-19 [ 18 ].…”

Contact transmission of SARS-CoV-2 on fomite surfaces: surface survival and risk reduction

“…From this point of view, it should be stressed that many materials used nowadays or proposed to be used in the future in highly efficient masks [61][62][63] exhibit surfaces that might be orders of magnitude larger than the geometrical area. For example, Ahmad et al [64] revealed their thoughts on the healthcare policies, developing materials and technology strategies that have contributed to reducing the damage of the pandemic, coming from the perspectives of material scientists. Alenezi et al [42] proposed a novel face mask designed as a reusable respirator with a small and highly efficient disposable fabric filter.…”