BEIJING, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies have adopted various technologies to assist their staff to resume work safely and efficiently amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Broad Group, a Changsha-based air conditioner producer in central China's Hunan Province, has built an ozone disinfection cabin for thousands of its employees who have returned to work, according to a report by the Science and Technology Daily.

Like a silver-white metal house, the cabin can release ozone to kill the bacteria and viruses attached to the clothes. Before entering the working area, employees need to hold their breath and shake their bodies for 30 seconds in the cabin to complete disinfection, said the report.

The drug interferon alfa is antiviral and can also regulate human immunity. Beijing Kawin Technology Share-Holding Co., Ltd., a pharmaceutical company and one of the drug's main producers in China, has distributed the drug to its staff as a home-made nasal spray.

"We ask the staff to mix it with normal saline or pure water to make a nasal spray. It can form a barrier on the nasal cavity and oral mucosa after being sprayed in the mouth and nose, and improve the immunity," said Wang Huan, the company's deputy manager.

HoDo Group, one of the country's largest apparel manufacturers based in eastern Jiangsu Province, has started to produce the medical protective clothing in early February to support the fight against COVID-19. It has reached the daily production capacity of 10,000 sets as of Feb. 7, said the report.

However, the traditional sterilization method using ethylene oxide, a key step to produce protective clothing, takes a long cycle of seven to 14 days, which will delay the delivery of the products.

A subsidiary company of the China National Nuclear Corporation has adopted the new irradiation sterilization to increase production efficiency.

The irradiation sterilization mainly uses cobalt-60 and electron beams as radioactive sources. With a certain dose, the gamma rays or high-energy electron beams generated by electron accelerators can kill bacteria or pathogens and achieve disinfection and sterilization.

With this method, sterilization of over 10,000 medical protective suits can be completed within six hours, said Kang Siqing, the company's manager.

In addition, the irradiation sterilization is safer, more environmentally-friendly and effective compared to the traditional method. No waste water or chemicals are discharged in the whole sterilization process. Enditem

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