8 ms·

I was born and raised in Wuhan. My father and a few friends are still in Wuhan, one of the friend is a nurse. Here's what they told me: * The hospitals in Wuha

I was born and raised in Wuhan. My father and a few friends are still in Wuhan, one of the friend is a nurse. Here's what they told me: * The hospitals in Wuhan are at absolute maximum capacity. they are lumping any fever cases (e.g. flu) patients with potential coronavirus patients in the same room. * People with mild symptoms are sent home due to capacity, they are instructed to be quarantined at home unless symptoms get worse * Despite reports, surgical masks are completely sold out in China, my dad is asking me to send him 3M (the brand) masks from abroad. * Even hospitals are low on surgical masks for staff. Each nurse is given one or two masks per day, but per regulation, they needed to replace the mask every 3 hours. * A wider scale locked down went in to effect in Wuhan this morning, forbidding anybody from entering or leaving on any roads, rail, water or flight. * Domestic news are filled with non-sense, top 3 news today are praising Xi's CNY speech, which has exactly zero word mentioning the pandemic or Wuhan. [Edit] One more thing, * This coronavirus is potentially deadlier than SARS. Most of the 25 deaths are from the original 47 cases that was reported a few weeks ago.

throwaway122378 7y ago
Those masks are manufactured in China and are not available? Something doesn’t add up
- BiasRegularizer 7y ago
  Yes, scalpers swoop them up in all online stores. They are even sold out on Amazon US, Canada, UK and DE. I was told only the ones with a N95 rating can be effective against this virus. https://www.amazon.com/3M-Particulate-Respirator-8210-Pack/dp/B008MCUZZS https://www.amazon.com/3M-Particulate-Respirator-8210-Pack/d...
  - oefrha 7y ago
    Hmm, but it is in stock on Amazon US right now? I also went to tmall.com, Alibaba’s Chinese online marketplace, and it appears they are in stock too: https://list.tmall.com/search_product.htm?q=%BF%DA%D5%D6n95&type=p&vmarket=&spm=875.7931836%2FB.a2227oh.d100&xl=%BF%DA%D5%D6_1&from=mallfp..pc_1_suggest https://list.tmall.com/search_product.htm?q=%BF%DA%D5%D6n95&...
    - BiasRegularizer 7y ago
      Apparently (or so I was told) that the masks with ventilation holes are not nearly as effective. Hence my original link is one without a breathable hole. If you check Amazon again, all the hole-less N95 masks are all sold out.
      - oefrha 7y ago
        Your original link does say “in stock” at least for me. “Usually ships within 4 to 5 days”, but this isn’t a Prime/FBA product so it’s not clear if that’s just business as usual. Edit: What the hell with downvotes on a stated fact?
        BiasRegularizer 7y ago
        Interesting. I am not seeing any availability here in Sweden. Perhaps all the international shipping options are gone. Since I am not in the US, I'd have to order it to ship directly to China.
        thaumasiotes 7y ago
        For me, "Get it by February 4-5".
        gamblor956 7y ago
        Not only were they in stock for me but I could have had them (the N95 ones without holes) delivered by the end of day today... Going to call bullshit on the claim that they're sold out in the US.
  - tosh 7y ago
    surgical masks might be more effective (usability related) https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/public-should-use-surgical-masks-not-n95-masks-to-guard-against-wuhan-virus-spread https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/public-should-...
  - ValentineC 7y ago
    > I was told only the ones with a N95 rating can be effective against this virus. N95 masks need to be fit properly [1], and are very uncomfortable for daily use. Surgical masks are a good compromise for going out in public, and mostly protect others from the mask-wearer. It's more important to practise good hygiene to avoid infection [2]. [1] https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting_transcript.html https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/health/coronavirus-surgical-masks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/health/coronavirus-surgic...
    - thaumasiotes 7y ago
      > Surgical masks are a good compromise for going out in public, and mostly protect others from the mask-wearer. Under this model, if everyone panics and wears masks to prevent themselves from getting sick, the spread of the disease will be crippled because everyone's wearing masks and people who are sick can't infect anyone else. It's a great idea. This isn't really different from the herd immunity model of vaccination, where a lot of individuals getting vaccinated return a huge bonus to society in the form of herd immunity. If herd immunity were the only benefit, would we still want people to get vaccinated? Of course, that's why it's supposed to be mandatory.
- yorwba 7y ago
  Everyone in China who can afford to buy masks has scrambled to buy them. Of course they're sold out. Production is probably ramping up massively, but that's still not enough to satisfy demand right now.
hatenberg 7y ago
* Domestic news are filled with non-sense, top 3 news today are praising Xi's CNY speech, which has exactly zero word mentioning the pandemic or Wuhan. I can't put my finger on this where I may have seen this foxy pattern before...
jialutu 7y ago
If you are interested, there is a crowdfund in the UK trying to raise money to provide surgical masks to doctor and nurses in Wuhan. Here is the link: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/standbywuhan https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/standbywuhan
- dspillett 7y ago
  If the area is officially locked down, blocking transport by land, air, & water, how are they planning to deliver the masks? I assume there are exceptions made for appropriate officials and medical personnel, if adequate quarantine rues are followed, do the group attracting the crowd funding have access to this channel? Or drone based deliver perhaps (assuming they don't break the transport in/out rule despite not being manned so not presenting the same infection spread vector)? I'd like to know the masks are going to go somewhere useful, rather than being blocked by the rules and distributed around officials instead of to hospital staff & patients and the public, before I donate.
  - jialutu 7y ago
    So apparently it's not a full quarantine like everyone suggests, but more of a partial quarantine. My understanding is that deliveries to the local government is not accepted, so they are sending this straight to the hospitals. I also hear the logistics are set up, with more information currently available in the wechat group set up for this.
    - gamblor956 7y ago
      This is a full quarantine per all media reporting, including Chinese party apparatus. People are allowed in but are not allowed to leave once they are in Wuhan.
- lykr0n 7y ago
  No. That's the government's job. China is not some impoverished country.
thaumasiotes 7y ago
> Despite reports, surgical masks are completely sold out in China, my dad is asking me to send him 3M masks from abroad. Is 3M a brand, or are you shipping three million masks?
- BiasRegularizer 7y ago
  I meant the brand, not the quantity. Sorry!
- hnarn 7y ago
  3M is a Fortune 100 company, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a reader to have heard about them.
erdosnew 7y ago
this morning's news seems to indicate that the virus entered body via eyes according to expert. wearing mask alone probably won't be enough to prevent infection.
- koheripbal 7y ago
  link to claim please
  - fspeech 7y ago
    It is possible to have viral infection start as conjuctivitus, which is why it is important to not rub your eyes and to wash your hands regularly.
  - moulei 7y ago
    https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3047394/chinese-expert-who-came-down-wuhan-coronavirus-after-saying-it-was https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3047394/chinese-expe... Wang was one of the first medical professionals to enter Wuhan.
beamatronic 7y ago
Why aren’t all the alarm bells being sounded around the world?
- Symbiote 7y ago
  It's headline news in every national newspaper worldwide. What more do you expect? (I checked five European papers from different countries, then five from African countries. It's on the homepage on all of them.)
  - beamatronic 7y ago
    Well I’m honestly surprised Trump hasn’t closed all the borders yet. It seems like he finally has the excuse.
  - LiquidSky 7y ago
    New York Times, too, for the last few days. Just got an alert about a new patient in the US this morning.
- koheripbal 7y ago
  Because bureaucrats can only see "confirmed" numbers, despite the obvious signs that the numbers are wrong.
theseadroid 7y ago
reference to your last point please?

throwaway122378 7y ago

Those masks are manufactured in China and are not available? Something doesn’t add up

BiasRegularizer 7y ago
Yes, scalpers swoop them up in all online stores. They are even sold out on Amazon US, Canada, UK and DE. I was told only the ones with a N95 rating can be effective against this virus. https://www.amazon.com/3M-Particulate-Respirator-8210-Pack/dp/B008MCUZZS https://www.amazon.com/3M-Particulate-Respirator-8210-Pack/d...
- oefrha 7y ago
  Hmm, but it is in stock on Amazon US right now? I also went to tmall.com, Alibaba’s Chinese online marketplace, and it appears they are in stock too: https://list.tmall.com/search_product.htm?q=%BF%DA%D5%D6n95&type=p&vmarket=&spm=875.7931836%2FB.a2227oh.d100&xl=%BF%DA%D5%D6_1&from=mallfp..pc_1_suggest https://list.tmall.com/search_product.htm?q=%BF%DA%D5%D6n95&...
  - BiasRegularizer 7y ago
    Apparently (or so I was told) that the masks with ventilation holes are not nearly as effective. Hence my original link is one without a breathable hole. If you check Amazon again, all the hole-less N95 masks are all sold out.
    - oefrha 7y ago
      Your original link does say “in stock” at least for me. “Usually ships within 4 to 5 days”, but this isn’t a Prime/FBA product so it’s not clear if that’s just business as usual. Edit: What the hell with downvotes on a stated fact?
      - BiasRegularizer 7y ago
        Interesting. I am not seeing any availability here in Sweden. Perhaps all the international shipping options are gone. Since I am not in the US, I'd have to order it to ship directly to China.
      - thaumasiotes 7y ago
        For me, "Get it by February 4-5".
      - gamblor956 7y ago
        Not only were they in stock for me but I could have had them (the N95 ones without holes) delivered by the end of day today... Going to call bullshit on the claim that they're sold out in the US.
- tosh 7y ago
  surgical masks might be more effective (usability related) https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/public-should-use-surgical-masks-not-n95-masks-to-guard-against-wuhan-virus-spread https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/public-should-...
- ValentineC 7y ago
  > I was told only the ones with a N95 rating can be effective against this virus. N95 masks need to be fit properly [1], and are very uncomfortable for daily use. Surgical masks are a good compromise for going out in public, and mostly protect others from the mask-wearer. It's more important to practise good hygiene to avoid infection [2]. [1] https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting_transcript.html https://www.osha.gov/video/respiratory_protection/fittesting... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/health/coronavirus-surgical-masks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/health/coronavirus-surgic...
  - thaumasiotes 7y ago
    > Surgical masks are a good compromise for going out in public, and mostly protect others from the mask-wearer. Under this model, if everyone panics and wears masks to prevent themselves from getting sick, the spread of the disease will be crippled because everyone's wearing masks and people who are sick can't infect anyone else. It's a great idea. This isn't really different from the herd immunity model of vaccination, where a lot of individuals getting vaccinated return a huge bonus to society in the form of herd immunity. If herd immunity were the only benefit, would we still want people to get vaccinated? Of course, that's why it's supposed to be mandatory.
yorwba 7y ago
Everyone in China who can afford to buy masks has scrambled to buy them. Of course they're sold out. Production is probably ramping up massively, but that's still not enough to satisfy demand right now.

hatenberg 7y ago

* Domestic news are filled with non-sense, top 3 news today are praising Xi's CNY speech, which has exactly zero word mentioning the pandemic or Wuhan. I can't put my finger on this where I may have seen this foxy pattern before...

jialutu 7y ago

If you are interested, there is a crowdfund in the UK trying to raise money to provide surgical masks to doctor and nurses in Wuhan. Here is the link: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/standbywuhan https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/standbywuhan

dspillett 7y ago
If the area is officially locked down, blocking transport by land, air, & water, how are they planning to deliver the masks? I assume there are exceptions made for appropriate officials and medical personnel, if adequate quarantine rues are followed, do the group attracting the crowd funding have access to this channel? Or drone based deliver perhaps (assuming they don't break the transport in/out rule despite not being manned so not presenting the same infection spread vector)? I'd like to know the masks are going to go somewhere useful, rather than being blocked by the rules and distributed around officials instead of to hospital staff & patients and the public, before I donate.
- jialutu 7y ago
  So apparently it's not a full quarantine like everyone suggests, but more of a partial quarantine. My understanding is that deliveries to the local government is not accepted, so they are sending this straight to the hospitals. I also hear the logistics are set up, with more information currently available in the wechat group set up for this.
  - gamblor956 7y ago
    This is a full quarantine per all media reporting, including Chinese party apparatus. People are allowed in but are not allowed to leave once they are in Wuhan.
lykr0n 7y ago
No. That's the government's job. China is not some impoverished country.

thaumasiotes 7y ago

> Despite reports, surgical masks are completely sold out in China, my dad is asking me to send him 3M masks from abroad. Is 3M a brand, or are you shipping three million masks?

BiasRegularizer 7y ago
I meant the brand, not the quantity. Sorry!
hnarn 7y ago
3M is a Fortune 100 company, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a reader to have heard about them.

erdosnew 7y ago

this morning's news seems to indicate that the virus entered body via eyes according to expert. wearing mask alone probably won't be enough to prevent infection.

koheripbal 7y ago
link to claim please
- fspeech 7y ago
  It is possible to have viral infection start as conjuctivitus, which is why it is important to not rub your eyes and to wash your hands regularly.
- moulei 7y ago
  https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3047394/chinese-expert-who-came-down-wuhan-coronavirus-after-saying-it-was https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3047394/chinese-expe... Wang was one of the first medical professionals to enter Wuhan.

beamatronic 7y ago

Why aren’t all the alarm bells being sounded around the world?

Symbiote 7y ago
It's headline news in every national newspaper worldwide. What more do you expect? (I checked five European papers from different countries, then five from African countries. It's on the homepage on all of them.)
- beamatronic 7y ago
  Well I’m honestly surprised Trump hasn’t closed all the borders yet. It seems like he finally has the excuse.
- LiquidSky 7y ago
  New York Times, too, for the last few days. Just got an alert about a new patient in the US this morning.
koheripbal 7y ago
Because bureaucrats can only see "confirmed" numbers, despite the obvious signs that the numbers are wrong.

theseadroid 7y ago

reference to your last point please?