Walk-through sanitizing station catches the NBA's eyes, Maryland creator says

PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md (ABC7) — The fight against COVID-19 makes a stop in Prince George's County, where one business owner has created a product designed to provide some extra protection.

Biologist-turned-entrepreneur Donald Toatley created the Safe Pass Intelligent Disinfectant Station, which has multiple layers to fight the spread of COVID-19.

"Our primary mission is to reopen America safely and be able to restore the pathway for consumer confidence and getting back to doing the things we love," Toatley says.

The machine comes with a mask detector, temperature scanner, hand sanitizer dispenser, UVC lamp, and dispenses a diluted hydrogen peroxide vaporizing mist.

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While the CDC has not weighed in on walk-through sanitizing stations, he stressed the importance of wearing masks and that this should only be a secondary measure.

"It really acts as the first line of defense in helping to mitigate the virus by reducing individuals' ability to transmit the virus through secondhand contact," said Toatley. "The number one way to be shown to really reduce the spread and transmission is through the mask-wearing, so that's really the number one thing."

He said so far, he's sold about 30, the first big client being a theme park in Malaysia. But others have reached out as well, including the NBA.

"I actually just did a partnership with the University of the Virgin Islands to help do research and development where they're looking to enhance my model with contact tracing capabilities and as a result, we're in the process of forming a collaborative partnership with NIH," he said.

He said the full machine costs $15,000 but a mini temperature terminal can be purchased for $4,650.

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"It's been my life mission to be able to serve," he said.