Punching Bag Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 My wife's family lives in Hong Kong/ If you have heard news from Hong Kong you know there have been protests there turned violent with help from China with them blaming the US. A great number of people with virus from China have been encouraged to move to Hong Kong since China is having trouble treating all with virus. My brother-in-law works at a hospital in Hong Kong and my wife is worried about him. My brother-in-law is the youngest of a set of triplets and always weakest due to it. The only defense against the virus is the n95 mask which is mostly used in construction - to keep fiberglass and asbestos out of workers' lungs. A store there announced masks effective against virus were available to be sold and over 1000 people got in line to buy. There is even shortages of items like bleach. He cannot find masks and so my wife thought to buy some and mail them to him. I looked what was available online and it was not promising so we took a trip to stores with 2 local hardware chains (Lowes and Home Depot) out and other stores checked including Walmart, CVS and Walgreens as well. Due to the virus the demand for these types of masks have gone up with people buying the masks "just in case" even though in US there is no significant danger yet. Shelves at hardware chains are empty with their websites stating no known date for restock. Many of these buyers are reselling them on places like eBay and Amazon at price gauging prices. Some are also on both sites mislabeling masks meant for other purposes (i.e. surgical masks whose purpose is to stop fluids from coughing, etc) as n95 falsely. Others are splitting bulk packages and selling them in small packages with none of the assurances from manufacturer that they are still suitable for use with some stating "original packaging" when manufacturer does not sell packages with these quantities. I found a seller on eBay in China figuring shipping would be faster and my wife told me not to buy from there - companies in China collect used ones, clean them up and sell them as new. This kind of thing used to be common in England in late 19th century with servants selling old tea leaves to merchants who would clean them, dry them and in some case dye them to be resold. There are a number of articles on this. Some are even for price gouging. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-01-31/sold-out-coronavirus-n95-face-masks-offer-lesson-in-price-gouging After 6 hours searching I found masks for sale for fire fighters. Significantly more than other masks out of stock so I hope they are good quality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 After 2 minutes of searching, I found this - https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/MMM07185?cid=paidsearch_shopping_dcoe_google&gclid=Cj0KCQiApt_xBRDxARIsAAMUMu98U-aIPrLx3prqQzzDIMBpUDNFwRm1EjNLeYWOsItVoURcwXoGxxgaAnDcEALw_wcB 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherpa Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) These are still available. Edited February 3, 2020 by sherpa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teddy KGB Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 48 minutes ago, Jaraxxus said: What did I just read? he’s looking for a black market on masks. you know a guy ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 hours ago, Teddy KGB said: he’s looking for a black market on masks. you know a guy ? Or complaining about Price gouging.... Supply and demand....... Capitalism....... The American Way! This sound like what happens all of the time in these situations, people and companies look to make a profit in desperate times. Easy way to make some money if you don't care about others....... If people aren't buying to sell/flip, they are 'Stocking up' because of fear it may be needed. Just a few weeks ago up here an emergency alert went out by accident (they said it was accidentally sent out during a training exercise) of an issue at an Ontario Nuclear Power plant. Sale of the pills for radiation went through the roof very soon after as people stocked up all over the province 'just in case' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teef Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 i have a bunch sitting in our back store room. i can wait to sell them at an absurd price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 (edited) 49 minutes ago, apuszczalowski said: If people aren't buying to sell/flip, they are 'Stocking up' because of fear it may be needed. Just a few weeks ago up here an emergency alert went out by accident (they said it was accidentally sent out during a training exercise) of an issue at an Ontario Nuclear Power plant. Sale of the pills for radiation went through the roof very soon after as people stocked up all over the province 'just in case' And just within the hour I heard a CBC radio piece regarding a developer who wants Pickering city officials to amend bylaws to allow a development to be built even closer to Darlington than is now allowed. Edited February 3, 2020 by Ridgewaycynic2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkreed Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 You guys do know that these masks aren't going to stop you from inhaling the virus right? They do a good job of stopping an infected person from spewing germs out. It's why surgeons wear masks in surgery, to prevent their germs from getting out. The mask is all psychological in nature. We should be worried more about the flu than coronavirus right now. It seems like there is something to worry about every year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Info Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 42 minutes ago, nkreed said: You guys do know that these masks aren't going to stop you from inhaling the virus right? They do a good job of stopping an infected person from spewing germs out. It's why surgeons wear masks in surgery, to prevent their germs from getting out. The mask is all psychological in nature. You do know that the N95 mask, which is the topic, is not the same as a surgical mask to which you may be referring? However, someone needs to understand N95 operation. Not as simple as buying from Amazon/Home Depot and putting it on. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livescience.com/amp/face-mask-new-coronavirus.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nkreed Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 6 minutes ago, Mr Info said: You do know that the N95 mask, which is the topic, is not the same as a surgical mask to which you may be referring? However, someone needs to understand N95 operation. Not as simple as buying from Amazon/Home Depot and putting it on. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livescience.com/amp/face-mask-new-coronavirus.html Yes, I know the difference between the two. The N95 is capable of filtering out 95% of the particulates with a median mass diameter of 0.3 microns. Pretty small. SARS, another strain of coronavirus, was 0.1 microns and typical coronavirus' have been in the 0.125 micron size. So, at this size of particle, we're looking at some protection, but not much, because as you stated, you need to know how to wear it, how it fits, when it's done being effective, etc. Again this is psychological. And also if you run out of n95s to buy, go buy a P100. ?♂️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 hour ago, nkreed said: You guys do know that these masks aren't going to stop you from inhaling the virus right? They do a good job of stopping an infected person from spewing germs out. It's why surgeons wear masks in surgery, to prevent their germs from getting out. The mask is all psychological in nature. We should be worried more about the flu than coronavirus right now. It seems like there is something to worry about every year Yes.. But it also deters face touching... Creates a reminder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Just send him some chicken soup and sprite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Jim Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 37 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said: Just send him some chicken soup and sprite. Mom? Is that you?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aristocrat Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 gargle with bleach and he'll be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 4 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said: And just within the hour I heard a CBC radio piece regarding a developer who wants Pickering city officials to amend bylaws to allow a development to be built even closer to Darlington than is now allowed. Lol, it's incredible how within the last maybe 20 years how things have changed when it comes to development. I remember growing up and seeing large pieces of land that you could never build on because they were swampy, or close to hydro lines or railway tracks. Now, everything is fair game if the developer puts in some provisions..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 1 minute ago, apuszczalowski said: Lol, it's incredible how within the last maybe 20 years how things have changed when it comes to development. I remember growing up and seeing large pieces of land that you could never build on because they were swampy, or close to hydro lines or railway tracks. Now, everything is fair game if the developer puts in some provisions..... Preferably in smaller, unmarked bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 2 hours ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Yes.. But it also deters face touching... Creates a reminder. That's one of the things they said against wearing masks and why they don't really work, adjusting the mask or taking it on and off puts your hands near your face and spreads germs. 7 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said: Preferably in smaller, unmarked bills. In some cases yup. I know a few not too far from you where they could build pretty close to an active rail line, they needed a huge berm in the backyard, min 10" thick foundation walls, and mandatory Central A/C units so the owners won't have to open their windows to keep cool and complain about the noise.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 49 minutes ago, aristocrat said: gargle with bleach and he'll be fine You know that might work. Last week I had a fever Monday night, on Tuesday I was still sick and my mother in-law was over. She likes to wash things with bleach and decided to try to clean the inside of my Yeti mug by letting bleach soak in it. I didn't realise this and assumed it was just soap so I dumped it out and rinsed it. Made some tea and thought it taste a little funny. She saw my drinking from it a little while later and asked if I washed it out cause she was using bleach to try and get some stains out of it. I had this flu/virus for the least amount of anyone in my house who had it, lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts