Foldable mask to cover just nose while eating launched by Korean company

In South Korea, an anti-virus mask that simply covers the nose and can be worn while eating and drinking is on the market.

A business named Atman has produced the ‘kosk’, which is a mix of ko, the Korean word for nose and mask, and sells for 9,800 won ($8.13; £5.99) for a package of ten on online retailer Coupang. It is made up of two halves, one of which can be removed to reveal the mouth.

Spar Clone Fabric, also on Coupang, has three reusable Copper Antivirus Nose Masks that solely cover the nose at all times for 2,000 won ($1.65; £1.22). The masks are meant to be worn beneath a standard mask that covers the mouth and may be taken off when dining out or drinking with others.

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The strange masks have gotten a lot of attention on the internet. ‘Are they also selling teapots made from chocolate?’ asked one tweeter, while another wrote, ‘Next level stupidity!’ One Twitter user commented, ‘No different to the people who wear their masks below their nose’.

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Nonetheless, some research shows that the nose is the most common way for the coronavirus to enter the body, thus wearing a nasal mask may not be as ludicrous as it appears.

Professor Catherine Bennett of Deakin University’s Institute for Health Transformation in Australia told Nine News that masks that just cover the nose are a weird notion, but they are better than nothing.

Coronavirus cases in South Korea reached a new high of 22,907 on Thursday, surpassing 20,000 for the first time on Wednesday, due to the expansion of the Omicron variant.