N95 Masks on lockdown / shortage thanks to the Chinese Communist Government

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

*SNIP*

I just checked my local Home Depot online. They have N95 masks for some reason. I don't know why they would, but they do.

Also, look into getting 3M respirators they perform a lot better than those flimsy paper masks, fit snug against the face and last a lot longer too. Look into getting P95 or P100 canisters.

The respirators themselves are reusable, and can be cleaned with alcohol or bleach or just use both.

3M also sells full face respirators.

a reply to: FredT

I'm not sure I understood. Are you saying they are not providing masks anymore and you have to attend sick people without mask?

originally posted by: FredT
So it has not been in the press as far as I can see, but a few days ago, my hospital locked down ALL of our supplies of N95 masks which are routinely available on supply carts.

Maybe they locked them down because they were afraid that somebody might "borrow" a couple, for personal use.

It sounds like a sensible precaution to me.

originally posted by: Stupidsecrets
Crazy that it's cheaper to make flimsy masks cheaper from thousands of miles away to include crossing a vast ocean than just making them around the corner but that is reality. The workers there are slaves. We traded our slavery and enslave other people. It's really not any harder than that. Start demanding healthcare, higher wages, time off and companies say eff that nonsense.

Most of that is the currency difference.

A lot of the rest is the difference in the price of housing. I used to make about $300 a month in total in China. I lived in a three bedroom apartment. I couldn't live on somebody's couch for $300 a month in most of the US.

This is interesting, a subject I have first hand experience with.

The entire world supply of masks has been purchased for use in China. Purchases have been made by:

CPP
Wuhan local government
PPE distributors based in all countries, in order to ship to fulfill their order books which over the last few weeks have increased hugely.

Some more interesting 'happenings':

CPP have 'commandeered' factories with ability to manufacture masks.


Additionally, the question "why are we not prepared for this?', or 'why have we not got these in stock for this situation?".
The reason is down to money. Masks (and similar disposable PPE) is very cheap and margin (after costs) is reasonably low. So in order to make money sales must be in the 10s of thousands, often in the 100s of thousands.

As you know, millions of masks are being made to supply China. The storage space to hold PPE for such an event costs money, when you can't predict when the event is coming you are paying storage costs to store something for indefinite amount of time. Which is crazy business practice.

Also, when something is held in stock for many years it depreciates in value as an asset.

So whilst it makes sense for safety, keeping stocks of PPE does not make sense in business.



The more important question should be: If only x thousand are infected, why do China need x billion number of masks?

Oh it's also worth noting that surgical masks and most disposable masks offer little to no protection for the wearer. They do stop water droplets spreading from the wearer but they offer very little protection.

a reply to: FredT

metro.co.uk...



These masks don't stop the virus, they can help, but they don't stop them.
It's more for people that are already sick, so they don't pass it along.
As crazy as some of these masks look, I think some might work. The bottle on the head of kids scares me for suffocation risks, but when you REALLY look at it, it looks similar to what surgeons/dentist wear.

The cabbage leaf one just freaks me out, I'm sure it works because everyone will be too scared to walk up to you!

a reply to: JAGStorm

One of the best articles I've read on the Coronavirus

bigcanoe.themountainsvoice.com...

1) SIZE IMPACTS SPREAD VIA AIRWAY TRANSMISSION: As mentioned earlier, Coronaviruses are very small. There are variations, but for simplicity sake I am going to take some averages when discussing size. Influenza viruses are about 0.3 microns in diameter. An N95 Mask blocks 95% of all particles that are 0.3 microns in diameter or larger. Coronaviruses are much smaller at a range of 0.06 – 0.14 microns. A standard N95 mask is going to be virtually useless in stopping the spread of the virus, as it will pass through the larger openings in an N95 mask at above the effective protection rate. It is simply an issue of particle size, and the physics of a very small virus going through a larger opening. The cheaper masks that most people use are even less effective in preventing a person from catching WUHAN-CoV in a situation in which someone has sneezed,

a reply to: wuflu

We could employ the entire country if we brought all our manufacturing home.

a reply to: Creep Thumper

Well, kind of off-topic, but it's not that easy. There's this thing called the market and supply & demand. Some products, especially ones like this, high volume/low cost items, just cannot fit (legally) within the wage structure unless they go off-shore. Again, this discussion is off-topic, so I don't belabor the point, but I think you get the idea.

a reply to: JAGStorm
I put Lugol's Iodine in a spray bottles and spray a coat of it on my face mask. Sometimes I will swab my nostrils with Iodine as well. Iodine is effective in killing Coronaviruses and Influenza and will help kill any viruses that may pass thru your mask.

Here's the thing I don't get...there must be a trillion N95 dust masks in this country. They are used every day in countless industries and are required by law in many of these. So, how is it they are now going missing? I don't think they are, honestly. I can go down to my local industrial supply house and buy a pickup truck load of them and not even put a dent in their supply. I think this is just hype.

Not to mention the fact that they don't seem to be 'particularly effective at stopping this virus anyway.

Typical stupidity from them. The PATIENT should be the one wearing the mask not the public.

But what can you expect from a culture that drinks and bathes in live bat blood?

a reply to: FredT

Honestly this whole situation needs to make the west rethink our relationship[/STRIKE] reliance with China.

We've already all taken an economic hit so some corporations can exploit cheap labor while barely dropping the costs for us. A lot of our money is going overseas rather than staying at home...

And worse of all, it's a big gamble on a house of cards. The Chinese government makes paper tigers to make appearances of a booming economy. All it will take is something like this to make it crumble.

To be fair, we have similar problems which I believe stems from us exporting a lot of our core industries. 08' should have really made us rethink our financial system.