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> China now makes 200 million face masks a day — more than twenty times the amount it made at the start of February. That’s an insane number of masks. Does on
by koolba 7y ago
> China now makes 200 million face masks a day — more than twenty times the amount it made at the start of February.
That’s an insane number of masks.
Does one in seven Chinese wear a fresh one every day? Is this gonna be the new normal?
- stubish 7y agoOnly 600,000 of those are N95 standard, suitable for health care and using the special fabric in short supply. Mask wear in Asia is common, for smog, smoke and controlling flu. The cheap ones don't last long, and often replaced instead of put through the wash. Common mask usage requires use of cheaper, more comfortable masks rather than the health care certified ones.
- bootlooped 7y agoI would wear an N95 mask sometimes in Asia, to mitigate the pollution. I didn't throw it away after each use. I imagine their use by medical professionals to be a much different case though. I think a lot of Asian people wore the cheap cloth ones. I have learned recently that these sometimes have replaceable inserts inside them.
- adrianN 7y agoThe masks filter pollution about as effectively after prolonged use as when they're new. The problem for medical use is contamination with germs.
- Scoundreller 7y ago> The masks filter pollution about as effectively after prolonged use as when they're new. Filters generally get better at filtering as they get dirty. A pore with a mountain of dirt/dust over it gets even better at only permitting gasses through. But that also means less and less flow, until you're letting nothing through at all. I think the other problem for medical use is moisture buildup. A damp/wet/sweaty N95 doesn't let gasses through very well.
- jhanschoo 7y agoDo you have a source for that? The recommendations I've seen suggest otherwise, and this matches my intuition. Wear creates and enlarges pores, and also, pores of the right size get clogged resulting in more flow over pores that are too large to filter.
- Scoundreller 7y agoDepends on what's hitting the filter. All "wear" will enlarge pores by definition, otherwise it's not wear. And in your example, if pores are 0.1-0.3micron, and you have uniform 0.2micron particles hitting it, yes. But reality isn't usually so uniform. Shards of glass will create more problems for the filter media than shredded N95 mask dust :) A mask covered in saw dust will slow down and make a particle hit against the filter more turbulent = less chance of forcing its way through.
- AdrianB1 7y agoAre the regular masks (not N95) efficient at all for smog and smoke? I think they are just paper masks stopping only large particles.
- Dahoon 7y ago>Mask wear in Asia is common, for smog, smoke and controlling flu The normal is wearing them to protect others, not yourself.
- stubish 7y agoWhere I was in Asia it was one of the reasons, because you don't want to suffer the glares of people if they catch you sneezing without a mask. But people also wear them to protect themselves, from flu on the trains and smog when on the streets. And the other reason is for a bit of privacy, which appeals to young women in particular.
- 1996 7y ago> Does one in seven Chinese wear a fresh one every day? China doesn't hoard masks, but sends them to various countries that have been hit hard. (EDIT: and I see the downvotes, and cringe inside that even humanitarian aid is seen as a valid target for anti China hate)
- blululu 7y agoI think this comment just reads as an assertion made to push a narrative. If you could provide some data about the relative domestic production and export quantities it would add a lot to the discussion and community’s knowledge. Part of what makes HN such a great resource is that people share facts and reasoning to justify their opinions.
- gruez 7y agoIs that surprising? You're not supposed to reuse them, so they're good for at most one day. If you work from home you might only need them for a couple of days a week, but if you're working you'll be going through multiple daily.
- Larrikin 7y agoThey only provide protection for four hours
- hnaccy 7y agoReally? 3M says to replace if they become too hard to breath through or are soiled. http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/447121O/filter-change-out-brochure.pdf http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/447121O/filter-change-out...
- kccqzy 7y agoMasks are supposed to be disposable. In normal times you wear it for a few hours, then throw away.
- est31 7y agoThose masks aren't N95 class meaning they can't be used by care workers. Of the N95 class masks, only 600k are manufactured daily, which isn't enough by far, especially when growth of patient numbers continues.
- azurezyq 7y agoCare workers are in tiers. Not everyone needs a N95. Not to mention there a are only 8k active covid cases in China now.
- prostheticvamp 7y agoThe N95s are for everyone expected to have direct exposure to patients with covid19. There’s no “tier” of healthcare professional that is unworthy of protection.
- mantap 7y agoNo human being is unworthy of protection regardless of their job; for instance, supermarket workers also require protection. However this is a limited resource so of course those with the highest risk should get them first.
- BubRoss 7y agoIt is for scooter riders on dirt roads in Vietnam. For people going through their day one way or another the virus won't last forever.
- Consultant32452 7y agoLet's imagine you are a medical professional at a drive-through Corona testing facility, like the ones they just announced will be in Walmart parking lots across the country. You get fully suited up head to toe including N95 mask, googles, etc. You take a sample from ONE person, that person leaves, you now take off every piece of gear and put on a new set. You can sanitize your goggles, but the N95 mask has to be disposed of. Let's imagine you're a nurse at an ICU. You have two patients, as is customary for most ICUs. Every 15-20 mins you have to suit up, check your patient, unsuit, resuit, check other patient. Every 15-20 mins you are using two N95 masks. You do this 3-4 times per hour 24 hours a day. And you're just the nurse. You also have doctors, respiratory therapists, techs, and other people coming in and out of the room, all of whom will be disposing of an N95 mask.
- Johnny555 7y agobut the N95 mask has to be disposed of. In news footage of a drive through testing center, it appears that the nurse was wearing a surgical mask over her N95 respirator, and only discarded that surgical mask in between patients, not the whole N95 respirator. She discarded her gloves too, they didn't show enough between-patient footage to show if she disposed of the blue (paper?) overcoat she wore over her scrubs between patients too.
- muzani 7y agoI bought N95 masks a few times. It was pricey - about as much as a latte. I can't afford that every day, so I recycled the mask a few times. (This was not for COVID-19, but some other issues when my wife was in ICU and air pollution issues) China can export those masks if they're not using them. Right now it's printing money. But even when this pandemic blows over, they'll still sell for a good price in countries without that manufacturing capacity.
- doodlebugging 7y agoI think you are right that there will be a premium on these type masks after all this blows over regardless of supply. Especially in countries that have no domestic production capabilities.
- nerfhammer 7y agothey're not nearly as expensive each if you buy a box of them. I think it used to cost like $12 for 2 or $16 for 10, speaking in the before-time of course.
- jyrkesh 7y agoEh, not in the US. I bought a 10 pack of 3M N95s last April in anticipation of forest fires that had screwed up air quality the last two years. They were $40 for the 10, so roughly the price of a latte per day. Fortunately, the fires didn't happen, so I now have 10 masks, but I have absolutely no idea when/how the right time to bring use them is, and I'm doubtful that 10 would make the difference (my local healthy community is currently well stocked even if there's no available at retail). Also to those wondering, the CDC says that, when worn correctly and while limiting adjustments, N95 masks can last up to 8 hours of continuous use for disease prevention. So yes, it's basically a 1-a-day thing. EDIT: Forgot to add the citation https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguidanceextuse.html https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hcwcontrols/recommendedguid...
- nerfhammer 7y agoI think you overpaid, I paid less than half that the last time I bought a box of 10, which was not at a time of high demand.
- Cantbekhan 7y agoIt's been shown by a few documentaries (by ARTE european channel) that up to at least the 3rd of march and in Beijing, you are not authorized to go out without a face mask (for grocery shopping for instance). Each family has a few "permits" available to go out but facemask (chirurgical type) is not an option for those going. Your temperature as well as your mask compliance will be checked pretty much at every venue/transportation/shop. Source (in french): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQD_-2KI244 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQD_-2KI244