As of 9:00 on April 16, 2020, according to the People’s Daily, the number of confirmed cases worldwide has officially exceeded 2 million, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide has reached 2,062,485; the cumulative number of deaths has exceeded 137,000, reaching 136,908 cases. Many scientists have stated that the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide has reached 2,062,485. Will last for years…
From the map, China’s The density is already dwarfed by that of Europe and the United States.
Yesterday, the scientific community also released signals that the new coronavirus epidemic will last for several years and become the global norm in the near future.
A study in the journal “Science” proposed that in the absence of specific drugs and vaccines, in order to prevent the new coronavirus from overwhelming intensive care capacity, long-term or intermittent social isolation It may need to last until 2022.
They also called for testing for the new coronavirus to be maintained even after the new coronavirus has been apparently eliminated, because a new round of relapse is possible in 2024.
A Harvard University team believes that COVID-19 will become a seasonal epidemic, and the world may need to repeatedly implement social distancing measures, sometimes loosening and sometimes tightening, thereby preventing medical treatment. Find a balance between overwhelming the system and maintaining normal life, as described in our previous article with the “Light Switch Method.”
“Lightswitch”: Through repeated shocks of loosening and tightening, the new coronavirus epidemic can have a “soft landing”.
It can be transmitted in seconds, masks become a weapon against the epidemic
Recently, Finnish researchers created a computer model of how a cough spreads with airflow in a grocery store and how coronavirus particles spread, perfectly demonstrating why we should wear masks in public.
In the simulation, particles from a person in one aisle would diffuse upward and over the shelves into the adjacent aisle. After a cough, the cloud of particles is dispersed throughout the area in large numbers, eventually diluting within minutes.
Based on this, the researchers concluded that airborne particles could infect other shoppers shortly after the cougher leaves.
In fact, China has already reached similar conclusions. In an interview conducted by Xinhua News Agency on February 11 with Wang Guiqiang, Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Peking University First Hospital, Dr. Wang said,
The new coronavirus has such exaggerated contagiousness that wearing a mask 24 hours a day has become a standard behavior for people around the world, and may last for two years.
In this post-pandemic era, we need masks like never before.
Since masks became hard currency at the beginning of this year, the N95 masks produced by 3M Company have become even more difficult to find due to their excellent quality.
For the textile industry, which has been in dire straits recently, the global demand for masks has also spawned The price of raw materials in the industrial chain related to masks has increased significantly, and many companies have switched production.
It is understood that in the previous February, there were only more than 4,000 mask manufacturers in China, with a daily production capacity of more than 20 million masks per day. With a 10-fold gap between supply and demand, as the world’s manufacturing base, it is predicted that China’s situation of being hard to find may continue for a long time.
However, demand is the strongest guide for the market. A-share mask concept stocks have performed a miraculous monthly increase of 640%, while Sinopec, Foxconn, Shanghai General Wuling, Sangun Underwear, etc. Many companies have magically transformed and started to work part-time as mask manufacturers without hesitation.
Enterprises switch production across borders and join the army of manufacturing masks
Expand production capacity It’s not something that happens overnight. A mask requires a cycle from upstream raw material production, to midstream manufacturing and packaging, to downstream distribution and sales through various channels.
But now, as the epidemic spreads across the country, people in many remote areas have begun to wear masks, and masks have become a daily “rigid necessity.” Due to the sudden expansion of demand, even if 3M and Honeywell run out of inventory and activate factories around the world to produce masks at full capacity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the “distant water” will not be able to save the “near fire”.
At this time, what is most needed is to focus on the power of Made in China. In order to fill the gap, major domestic companies have stepped forward and have been producing masks non-stop day and night since the Spring Festival.
Among them, a wave of magical operations by Robust Medical has been widely circulated on the Internet. As early as December 20, 2019, it was already producing masks at full capacity. It produced more than 100 million masks in more than a month, and its daily production capacity reached 3 million.
What’s even more amazing is that “big manufacturers” such as Sinopec, Shanghai-GM-Wuling Hongguang, and Foxconn have also renovated mask production lines to increase production capacity and make up for the gap.
On February 6, Sinopec (600028) posted a “hero post” on its official Weibo – “I have melt blown…��, who has a mask machine? “, “We can purchase all the masks that have been increased to support the front line of Hubei’s fight against the epidemic, and can also support the local epidemic prevention and fight where the company is located.” It means that it has raw material meltblown cloth, and there is an urgent need for mask machines to increase the production of masks to fight the epidemic.
Epac, the Sinopec subsidiary responsible for the production of masks this time, is the largest industrial products e-commerce platform with There are abundant reserves of melt-blown cloth, the raw material for masks, so as long as the mask machine is available, production can start in minutes. Sinopec also said that the company has melt-blown cloth, and if any company lacks this raw material, the company can transport it to your door.
It is not difficult to see that producing masks is not difficult. This is especially true for Foxconn, a production company with decades of history, which has no shortage of resources such as renovating production line capabilities, raw material procurement, and labor force.
Industrial Fii (601138) announced on February 7 that it has added a new production line for medical masks. It is currently expected to achieve a daily production capacity plan of 2 million pieces by the end of February. Priority will be given to users The Foxconn Group’s nearly one million employees produce internal epidemic prevention guarantees; it does not occupy social resources and makes room for the public’s demand for masks; in the future, it will actively provide external support depending on the situation and provide strong support for the current epidemic prevention and control work. Currently, its first daily output is 100,000 Only the mask production line is still in the trial production stage, and product qualification certification is still being applied for.
If “everything can be Foxconn”, then how can the “national sacred car” SAIC-GM-Wuling not be Do you think of making masks?
On February 6, SAIC-GM-Wuling, a subsidiary of the automobile leader SAIC Group, planned to work with suppliers to convert production lines to produce masks. Its dust-free workshop is composed of Guangxi Construction Engineering Group is responsible for the reconstruction and will be completed and put into use within this month. The project plans to build a total of 12 mask production lines, including N95 and general medical protective mask production lines, with a daily production capacity of more than 1.7 million.
Because masks and automobile sound-insulating cotton are made of the same material, SAIC-GM-Wuling and its suppliers can make masks by changing the production line.
In fact, companies such as Sinopec, Foxconn, and SAIC-GM-Wuling have high-standard clean workshops and sealed workshops, which are perfect for producing masks.
With Sinopec, Foxconn, Compared with the “crossover” of giants such as SAIC, GM, and Wuling, it is natural for diaper and underwear manufacturers to switch to masks.
Recently, Daddy Baby, Sanqiang Underwear, and Hongdou Clothing A number of merchants such as , Mercury Home Textiles, etc. urgently applied for qualifications, stopped their original production plans for diapers, underwear, etc., and changed to making medical masks overnight to support the front line in the fight against the epidemic. Daddy Baby’s official Weibo shows that after switching to the production of masks, its production capacity has been accelerated to 1.4 million as of February 6.
As the epidemic enters the most difficult period of the outbreak, not only masks have received support from various companies, but also companies have come forward to provide supplies that are urgently needed during the epidemic.
The powerful Jinjiang clothing company took the initiative to switch production of protective clothing this time. After donating 3 million yuan, Lilang Group worked closely with Jinjiang garment companies such as Silan Group, Jiujiuwang Food, and Xunxing Zipper to “make strong contributions, have workshops to produce workshops, people to provide people, and materials to produce materials.” In 3 days This will enable the mass production of professional medical protective clothing.
Production changes are everywhere. Zhejiang Guyue Longshan Shaoxing Wine plans to produce 60,000 bottles of disinfectant alcohol. A company that produces liquor in Liaocheng, Shandong Province also temporarily decided to switch production and donated 100,000 bottles of 75% alcohol to the front lines of the fight against the epidemic.
From a “cover” that is hard to find to a “cover” that stays with you every day
On March 6, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that the daily production capacity of N95 masks increased from 200,000 to 1.6 million, and that of ordinary masks reached 100 million. China has also changed from a situation where it is hard to find a mask to a situation where it is always available every night.
The rapid expansion of China’s mask production capacity is due to the fact that more and more companies have joined the cross-border production of masks and used a large number of production lines to ensure the supply of masks.
As of March 12, Mi Feng, spokesperson of the National Health Commission, said that overall, the peak of the current epidemic in China has passed, and the number of new cases continues to decline. Overall levels remain low. At the same time, the current global epidemic situation continues to develop rapidly, and China is willing to make its contribution to the global fight against the epidemic.
Qixinbao data shows that there are 4,689 mask companies, 64 protective clothing companies, and 17 goggle companies nationwide, concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin Wing and other regions. . Among them, Shandong Province has the largest number of mask companies, with more than 1,000 in the province; Zhejiang and Jiangsu both have more than 500 mask companies; and Hubei Province, the most severely affected area, also has 197 mask companies. Moreover, the number of protective clothing companies ranks highest in the country, reaching 20 (Table 2). Judging from the distribution of the number of enterprises in each province, it is roughly consistent with the mask production capacity information released by the above provinces.
Editor’s note:
Although due to the high demand for masks recently, a large number of people have been buying and selling masks, non-woven fabrics, melt-blown fabrics, and mask production equipment. The word “crazy” is not an exaggeration to describe the current mask market. But as the editor, I would like to tell everyone, friends in the textile industry, remember to see the depth of the water before going into the river, and see the market clearly before investing. Finally, we hope that the global fight against the epidemic will end soon, and we also hope that the mask industry will return to the track of rational development.
As the editor, I want to tell everyone that friends in the textile industry must remember to see the depth of the water before going into the river and the market before investing. Finally, we hope that the global fight against the epidemic will end soon, and we also hope that the mask industry will return to the track of rational development. </p
