I do believe these masks are also made in the US, but this situation highlights exactly why a country having its own major manufacturing base is not just an economic need but rather also a national security need. The US needs to invest in itself immediately to rebuild its lost manufacturing base.<p>In economic terms, under certain definitions and assumptions that are typical under modern economics, a trade war such as the current US-China trade war result in welfare losses. I believe, however, that when national security is taken into account (ie having the ability for the country to rapidly respond to productive capacity needs in a time of crisis), the trade war along with serious investment in expanding industrial capacity is likely net good.
"Currently, of the 200 million masks China makes a day, only 600,000 are N95 standard masks, used by medical personnel, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, a state planning body. "<p>Wow, that is not enough.
As has already been talked about on HN, during Ebola, research was done into any mask.<p>And yes normal masks do work.<p>Once again the medical community needed 100% and people thinking of they are clever because they know a factoid are hurting reality.
> China now makes 200 million face masks a day — more than twenty times the amount it made at the start of February.<p>That’s an insane number of masks.<p>Does one in seven Chinese wear a fresh one <i>every day</i>? Is this gonna be the new normal?
Does anyone here have any personal, specific, actionable knowledge of the melt-blown plastics process? Are there alternatives for achieving the N95 (or sufficient) filtration levels in a different sheet material?<p>Automating many steps of assembly are [more] straightforward, but this precursor material supply really is a problematic bottleneck.
Not all masks are N95 people. It's crazy the amount of grandstanding and virtue signaling going on here. I have had a P100 mask for years with filters in stock, and I am wearing it out on town if I have to.<p><a href="https://www.coopersafety.com/respirator-types" rel="nofollow">https://www.coopersafety.com/respirator-types</a>
Difference between surgical and N95 mask characteristics straight from CDC:<p><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/UnderstandDifferenceInfographic-508.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/UnderstandDifferenceInf...</a>
In fact, ordinary people do not need N95 masks. General medical surgical masks will do. Even as long as the mask is waterproof. After all, wearing a mask is mainly to prevent the virus from spreading through saliva.
Generally good quote about Chinese manufacturing:<p>> China can be all over the place. Sometimes you think you're in a Western factory. Others are kind of like a dirt floor sort of shanty trying to pass their stuff off as good as the other guys. And maybe it is.
Surgical and homemade masks are much better than nothing. And by better than nothing we mean reasonably effective.<p>Going into close contact with a person who has a known transmissible respiratory illness? N95 is minimum if you are a professional. And get your union to scream bloody murder if you are not allowed this essential safety equipment, and put complaints in writing so your heirs can later sue to oblivion.<p>Trying to massively reduce your risk when going out for supplies, or living with someone infected and have no other options? Surgical and homemade are vastly vastly vastly better than nothing.<p>Extremely antisocial, harmful, dangerous? Shaming those wearing masks.
This is the price we pay for outsourcing our manufacturing capabilities. We should have kept in-house manufacturing alive, there is plenty of capacity for it here in the States.
I made a dozen good homemade masks in a few hours, and I am inept at sewing. With some practice I could make 200 a day. There's no point to doing so, it would be illegal for me to sell them.<p>US is doing nothing whatsoever to ramp up mask or ventilator production. It's going to result in a lot of deaths.