B.C.-designed sport masks prompted by Henry COVID innovation call-out | The Province

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As it became more-and-more clear thatgetting everyone to wear a mask is, along with social distancing and handwashing, an effective preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19, their thinking turned to designing a mask that would be effective and comfortable while playing sports.

“For a bunch of time there, we became our own guinea pigs, we were slapping fabric on our faces, cutting up N95 masks, learning how they work,” he said. “We just read and read and read, you got to the point where you were almost like the crazy guy on Facebook who went down the rabbit holes thinking they know everything about politics, except we were actually learning about the science.”

They learned about how singing and talking have been singled out as vectors that spread the droplets that can carry the virus from infected people toward others. (Wearing a mask during the current pandemic is more about protecting others from what you’re spewing as opposed to protecting yourself from others.)

They also recognized they weren’t producing a medical-grade mask — these aren’t approved by Health Canada or American authorities — but were following guidelines as suggested for masks suitable for public use.

They consulted with Dr. Darren Warburton, co-director of the Physical Activity Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Unit at the University of B.C., and Dr. Jack Taunton, professor emeritus in UBC’s division of sports medicine in the Faculty of Medicine, who served as chief medical officer for Vancouver 2010.