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Are there any masks to buy? A lot of news articles are about governments seizing mask shipments. Furthermore, I think most masks are being allocated to hospital

by Cpoll 7y ago

Are there any masks to buy? A lot of news articles are about governments seizing mask shipments. Furthermore, I think most masks are being allocated to hospitals.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
SQueeeeeL 7y ago
So then what, should the warehouse be left operating under those circumstances... if even one person has COVID, they'll handle thousands of items a day and disperse them all over the country. That's a massive risk
- Hamuko 7y ago
  Do we have some numbers on how long the novel coronavirus stays infectous on surfaces?
  - SQueeeeeL 7y ago
    I believe this is still the most up to date https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200320192755.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200320192755.h... 3 days on plastic...
    - dehrmann 7y ago
      But that's closer to an in-vitro, number, right? It doesn't account for how transmissible it still is?
danenania 7y ago
You need an N95 to reliably block incoming virus, and there's a shortage of these, but any mask or covering (even a homemade one) can drastically cut down on outgoing virus, which is particularly important for people like warehouse workers who have the potential to be super-spreaders.
j-c-hewitt 7y ago
There are masks to buy. The FDA also lifted the import restrictions on KN95, but those would not even necessarily be needed by a warehouse work force. If you can get the freight to the US and you are willing to pay for it, you can buy masks that would be good enough to equip a warehouse workforce. Other small warehouses I have personal knowledge of have been equipping their workers with masks and gloves daily in addition to hazard pay. It is just lack of attention to the issue that has caused the problem at Amazon. 99 out of 100 times I would support Amazon in any labor dispute. However, in this case, Amazon has not acted intelligently and the demands were very reasonable. The cost of equipping employees is much lower than the cost of more warehouse shutdowns due to illness and the comparison is so ridiculously in favor of "equip the employees" that even the hardest-hearted, self-interested Scrooge of a manager should be able to see the utility in equipping employees appropriately. As other even larger employers like Walmart have moved to make protective equipment available to all employees, Amazon is left looking stupid/evil/self-destructive in its approach here.
lm28469 7y ago
> Are there any masks to buy? If you have the money yes, apparently : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/global-battle-coronavirus-equipment-masks-tests https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/global-battle-...

by Cpoll 7y ago

Are there any masks to buy? A lot of news articles are about governments seizing mask shipments. Furthermore, I think most masks are being allocated to hospitals.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

SQueeeeeL 7y ago

So then what, should the warehouse be left operating under those circumstances... if even one person has COVID, they'll handle thousands of items a day and disperse them all over the country. That's a massive risk

Hamuko 7y ago
Do we have some numbers on how long the novel coronavirus stays infectous on surfaces?
- SQueeeeeL 7y ago
  I believe this is still the most up to date https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200320192755.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200320192755.h... 3 days on plastic...
  - dehrmann 7y ago
    But that's closer to an in-vitro, number, right? It doesn't account for how transmissible it still is?

danenania 7y ago

You need an N95 to reliably block incoming virus, and there's a shortage of these, but any mask or covering (even a homemade one) can drastically cut down on outgoing virus, which is particularly important for people like warehouse workers who have the potential to be super-spreaders.

j-c-hewitt 7y ago

There are masks to buy. The FDA also lifted the import restrictions on KN95, but those would not even necessarily be needed by a warehouse work force. If you can get the freight to the US and you are willing to pay for it, you can buy masks that would be good enough to equip a warehouse workforce. Other small warehouses I have personal knowledge of have been equipping their workers with masks and gloves daily in addition to hazard pay. It is just lack of attention to the issue that has caused the problem at Amazon. 99 out of 100 times I would support Amazon in any labor dispute. However, in this case, Amazon has not acted intelligently and the demands were very reasonable. The cost of equipping employees is much lower than the cost of more warehouse shutdowns due to illness and the comparison is so ridiculously in favor of "equip the employees" that even the hardest-hearted, self-interested Scrooge of a manager should be able to see the utility in equipping employees appropriately. As other even larger employers like Walmart have moved to make protective equipment available to all employees, Amazon is left looking stupid/evil/self-destructive in its approach here.

lm28469 7y ago

> Are there any masks to buy? If you have the money yes, apparently : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/global-battle-coronavirus-equipment-masks-tests https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/global-battle-...