> but construction was considered an essential business country-wide and never baked meaning you still had minimum wage day laborers (and unionized construction

> but construction was considered an essential business country-wide and never baked meaning you still had minimum wage day laborers (and unionized construction workers making well over that) working in environments N95 masks were designed for that had no access to PPE but still needed to report for work IMHO, most N95s on retail shelves probably wouldn't have gone to construction workers anyway; they'd have been snatched up by consumers with no real need. I do think it would have been reasonable allocate a quota to to go to construction supply companies that weren't open to the general public, though, for precisely the reasons you outlined. This story is pretty interesting, construction workers/companies are having to make similar kinds of adaptations to the shortage as healthcare workers are: https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/coronavirus-construction-n95-masks-pennsylvania-20200517.html https://www.inquirer.com/real-estate/coronavirus-constructio... > To combat supply shortages, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has temporarily adjusted some of its requirements for both health-care and construction workers, including allowing them to wear N95 respirator masks for longer than their intended use — normally a day or two for construction workers — and to use other types of respirators, such as KN95s shipped from China.... > OSHA is advising employers to reduce the need for N95 masks at jobsites any way they can, a Department of Labor spokesperson said. The National Association of Home Builders advises those who can’t find masks to minimize dust by vacuuming and wet cutting. The article even talked about construction companies and unions donating their existing mask stockpiles.