“Guerre des Masques”
The global coronavirus pandemic sparks a ‘War for Masks‘ in a desperate global scramble for protection.
As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across Europe and the United States, a global scramble for medical equipment such as respirator masks and gloves is underway. Several countries have accused the United States of trying to hijack their orders, but the details of who may have done what to whom are still murky.
In France they are calling it the “guerre des masques” — the war of the masks, and on Friday German officials also made allegations against the United States.
Andreas Geisel, a senior official in the state of Berlin, said that the US had committed an act of “modern piracy,” alleging that a consignment of 200,000 respirator masks destined for the Berlin police had been diverted to the US while in transit in Bangkok.
“This is not how you deal with transatlantic partners,” Geisel said, adding that “even in times of global crisis, no wild west methods should be used.”
As stockpiles dwindle and countries embark on what one French official called a “global treasure hunt,” governments are reluctant to allow protective and other equipment to leave their shores. Many governments say the prices being offered and demanded for personal protective equipment (PPE) are exorbitant.
On Friday, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya said an order for ventilators that had already been paid for had been impounded in Turkey.
Pot Calls Kettle Black
French border guards impounded trucks filled with 130,000 face masks bound for the UK leading to hurried negotiations between the British and French governments.
The masks were meant for brave NHS workers battling coronavirus across the country.
After realising what was on board, border guards in France held the truck in the wake of President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to ‘requisition’ face masks for the French crisis, reported The Sun.
Every Country for Itself
So much for EU solidarity. It’s now every country for itself.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
I’ve heard a lot of arguments for and against different types of masks. I myself prefer standard medical ones. They are designed for a couple of hours. This is enough to visit a store or a doctor. I see no point in unnecessary precautions that are inconvenient. But I also became more attentive to the cleanliness of my house and car. I started to use pressure cleaning more often – link to cleanup.expert This does not take much time but provides more guarantees against the virus.
What a shock….
So now we all need masks after being told for weeks that it actually increased our risk to wear one…
Why didn’t they just say: Hey, help out. Let’s save the masks for hospital workers and first-responders who need them.
There is no change in the message. The new message is that everyone should wear a mask because that way every infected person is wearing a mask, and that means that some asypmtiomatic person can not be a super spreader without even realizing he/she is sick. The mask is not to protect the wearer, but to protect other people from the wearer. That’s why they are telling people that anything will do, a bandana, a kitchen towel, whatever.
Most flu is asymptomatic also! Looks like you and others don’t know this.
Given most people will recover from CV19 and deaths are not anywhere near the count of usual flu deaths , I ask again and again and again, WHY is there such hysteria around CV19?
March 17, 2014
Most Flu Is Asymptomatic
Influenza, whether of the seasonal or pandemic variety, is asymptomatic in most people with serologically confirmed infection, according to a study in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
Yes, “most” people (as in over 50%) will recover from Covid19, though it’s unknown if some will have permanent lung damage (that won’t be known for a year or so). Even in Italy, only 13-20% will die, so I guess it’s no big deal. After all, in Italy, the flu kills about 240 people a year, and Covid19 has only killed 17,000, and is only killing 640 a day. Oh wait. That’s higher, so let’s use the US, where the flu has killed about 20,000 this year. Covid is still behind that for now.
In the US, Covid will pass the regular flu on about April 15th, and flus normally run for about 16-18 months, so it has about about a year left to go before it’s done. We both know that Covid is much worse than the flu, but enjoy your trolling.
To@Carl_R
I agree. My point was why didn’t they say that in the beginning, i.e., to STOP people from coughing out germs. Apparently, now they have….
Here in CA, the latest edict from our political/health overlords is that we can no longer bring reusable bags into stores. We have to accept their bags at 10-25 cents each (of which we do not know their providence or how safe they are)! Of course, the stores don’t seem to have a problem taking our cash payment, which comes from outside the store and may be filthy with the virus.
What’s next, handing out booties at the door because the virus might be on our shoes? Making us wear gloves and hair nets? Even full ponchos?
In the local Safeway store, traffic in the aisles is one direction only and they are supposed to maintain 2 cart distance between people. They have also installed red squares for people to stand on to maintain proper separation distance and only a limited number of people are allowed in the stores at any one time, leading to lines outside at every store (in the rain today). Local Costco store lines were over 1/4 mile long Saturday!
In another smaller grocery store I was at Saturday, I had to wait in line 20 minutes to be allowed in. They only allowed about 15 people in the whole store in an attempt to minimize people coming next to each other. Stores are going to lose so much revenue from this!
Last, our overseers have closed the most popular hiking trail in our country that normally got around 120k people per month on it (more since the economic closure and so many people out of work). Why? Because people were not maintaining their ordered separation distance! I feel like we are all in 5th grade again when someone gets caught chewing gum and the whole class gets punished.
If you want to know what a dictatorship or police state feels like, come visit San Mateo or San Francisco counties in CA.
They’re doing this all around the country. It must be inconvenient for you! Imagine all the nuisances of trying to save lives.
If my president says he is not wearing a mask, then I don’t have to wear a stinkin’ mask either!
Mask reuse is important too, whether homemade or commercial.
“Separately, a research team at Stanford Medicine tested various ways to clean used N95 masks –including soaking the masks in bleach and alcohol hand sanitizer and even cooking them in a microwave oven. They found that alcohol and chlorine bleach broke down the fibers in the masks so they didn’t screen small particles as effectively anymore. The study authors cautioned health care workers against trying to clean masks this way. Microwaves melted the masks, making them useless.”
“The fastest and most effective way to sterilize a used mask, they found, was to put it in an oven on low heat — about 158 F — for 30 minutes. A typical kitchen oven works fine for this, according to the study authors. Masks cleaned this way keep about 97% of their ability to screen out small particles.”
“Another great way to clean an N95 mask? Steam. Holding the mask over boiling water for about 10 minutes kills germs but also preserves about 95% of the mask’s ability to filter tiny germs like viruses”
“In France they are calling it the “guerre des masques” — the war of the masks, and on Friday German officials also made allegations against the United States.”
It reminds me of people fighting over the last package of toilet paper on the shelf, except it is now at the governmental level.
I’ll repost this link
Basically all countries and dealers are taking what they can get their hands on.
I’m shocked! Masks? Really?
P.S. – has anyone been listening to the White House Press Conferences? Seriously??
P.S.S. – watch FOXNEWS and make money.. Tucker Carlson said that this was an issue back in late January….. people laughed. I would LOVE to see them laugh now.
The theory is the mask protects other people from you. If people believed the theory, there’d be a much lower demand for masks.
It’s a two way street. When there is a social contract, all is good. Otherwise, move to China (mainland).
And yet the Australian Government health spokesman is urging people to NOT wear masks in public. He states that they’re dangerous.
Despite many other countries now telling people to wear masks either voluntarily or by decree or ignoring many eminent epidemiologists advice of the benefits of wearing masks.
There’s obviously a great shortage of available masks in Australia and the government doesn’t want to be caught out
Masks are “dangerous”?
WTF
That’s absurd
You can go to news.com.au and read the article – sorry can’t put a link.
use vacuum cleaner bags that are HIGH ALLERGEN ! link to youtube.com Fabric and most of the rest are near worthless Here you go for the comparisons link to postimg.cc
Trouble with n100 material is it resists airflow a lot. I’m designing a minipleat filter to go over gasmask cartridge , where the filter material is easily replaceable. It gives about three times surface area, better design could be more. I will eventually get round to building own face mask with this idea. I’ll share it because it is taking time and others with the tools can go ahead. A photo below shows the idea ( it looks rough because I used background eraser). No overhangs so can be moulded, a placement nib on each flat. An identical but opposite that fits perfectly will be moulded. The two halves will bolt together. A strip of material is placed across it when open, a pattern that guides the pleats is temporarily placed at center. A small device with thin metal arms manually places each fold, the top is placed, the device withdrawn, the top bolted. I’d like to make and test it first and present it as working, but I think better let anyone else inclined to get ahead. Any rights waived, except I don’t authorise others to claim any either.
I’ll do a quick sketch for what I mean by laying out the pleats later.
Could be fitted to reusable face mask.
Very rough sketch, but anyone who does designing/engineering will figure it, and why.
A crisis like this points out the flaw in globalization where a few companies/countries produce protective equipment. Adam Smith was wrong, and I am rebutting by writing “The Poverty of Nations”.
Oh, but look… see the invisible hand(?)! Everyone will sacrifice old t-shirts and make due.
Making homemade masks is simple. Saw this on TV and it works, I made two myself yesterday. With a cotton T-Shirt with short sleeves:
Cut the shirt in 2, cutting up the sides, through the armpit. Cut over
the shoulder and to the collar.
Fold the shirt from waist to the collar, I folded mine 5 times.
Wrap around you nose and mouth, tie in back of you head with
the sleeves.
I used a worn white Nordstrom under-shirt.
Drawback, I went for a walk today which was sunny but in low 50’s, my sunglasses were fogging up so I pulled it down went not near people.
I bought a thing called a “neck gaiter” and just put a piece of cut cloth or a napkin over my mouth and nose when I go to the store, works great.
A clean cotton wash cloth held in place with string, shoelaces, whatever will work just as well. I have several and clean/disinfect mine with a bleach solution. Wear one while others dry from disinfecting.
Be careful with the strength of bleach solution. If the cloth gets wet it’ll burn your face.