French entrepreneur invents anti-virus ‘hook’

Called “Yanook”, it consists of a little hook made of stainless steel which you can use to open doors, turn on a light or to enter a credit card code in a shop without having to directly touch the objects.

The hook can also be used as a bottle opener or bag holder.

Creator Yannick Silva came up with the idea during confinement.

He said to France Bleu radio: “I was trying to be careful, watching the children and I realised how often we touch things during the day. Then [a company] approached me to work on the 3D printing of a hook to open doors.”

Mr Silva started to make prototypes at home with his 3D printer and then redesigned it and created “Yanook” which can be produced quickly and without a mould.

Currently, 15,000 hooks are produced every day by his company Nconcepts but it can rise to 20,000 a day dependent on demand.

It is recommended to clean the hook regularly to avoid spreading the virus.

Mr Silva said: “The hook helps to keep the virus away but you still have to clean it regularly - in this sense it is not anti-virus.”

The virus can stay on surfaces for several, according to the composition and temperature of the object.

The hook is sold for €7.90 on this website, 70,000 have been sold so far.