World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on March 11 that the COVID-19 epidemic can be characterized as a pandemic. According to the simple definition of “pandemic” given by the WHO website in 2010, it is “the spread of a new disease on a global scale.” COVID-19 became the first coronavirus infectious disease to be called a “pandemic.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia outside China has increased 13 times in the past two weeks. The number of affected countries and regions has tripled; there are now more than 118,000 confirmed cases in 114 countries and regions, 4,291 deaths, and thousands of people fighting for their lives in hospitals. The number of confirmed cases, deaths, and number of affected countries and regions is expected to rise further in the coming weeks.
As of 12:00 on the 12th, Beijing time, a total of 43,787 cases of new coronary pneumonia have been diagnosed in 119 countries except China, 696 cases have been diagnosed on the “Diamond Princess” cruise ship, and a total of 1,456 deaths have been reported .
As the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic continues to expand, the global medical masks are in serious shortage. Earlier, when talking about the shortage of personal protective equipment such as masks, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the global market has been severely disrupted. Demand for personal protective equipment such as masks is already 100 times higher than normal, and prices are 20 times higher, and shortages are exacerbated by widespread and inappropriate use of personal protective equipment. At the epidemic media briefing on March 3, he further stated that the WHO appealed to the industry and governments, hoping that the production of medical masks can be increased by another 40%. It is predicted that the demand for medical masks will increase sharply, and the global monthly demand will reach 89 million in the future.
At the end of January and early February, masks were out of stock in some European cities. In Lucerne, Switzerland, and Vienna, Austria, nearly 10 pharmacies have sold out both surgical masks and N95 masks.
Many big cities in Italy are running out of mask stocks, and the online price of masks has risen from 10 euros (approximately RMB 0.76) to 10 euros (approximately RMB 76.2). .
According to statistics, the price of masks in German pharmacies has increased 24 times in 10 days, selling for about 60 euros per box.
Iranian online retailer Digikala (Iranian Taobao) said that the company sold 75,000 masks in 36 hours. The price of masks on the black market has skyrocketed as a result. Now, factories producing masks across Iran are fully operational, but production capacity still cannot fully cover the population in the affected areas. In the capital Tehran, the price of masks with breathing valves has increased tenfold, but one mask is still hard to find. The merchant said that the dealer had raised the price.
In March, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services stated that the number of N95 masks in the country’s inventory was 12 million, but medical staff may need 300 million—that is, there are still 200 million Many big gaps. At the same time, officials and doctors called on ordinary people to stop panic buying, and US drugstore SOS Survival Products said it may not be able to provide masks until September. According to CBS reports, at the Holcombe Medical Equipment Store in Houston, the United States, an N95 mask sells for between 20 and 25 US dollars (equivalent to more than 170 yuan). The person in charge of the store said that the demand for masks began to surge in January. Previously, a pack of two N95 masks cost $8.
According to Yonhap News Agency, due to the spread of the epidemic, the demand for masks in South Korea has increased by as much as 7,650%. South Korea has in principle banned the export of masks starting from March 6. The South Korean government said that the current daily output of masks in South Korea averages 11 million pieces, which has doubled compared with the previous two weeks, but it still faces a supply shortage. The online shopping price of Korean masks has soared, with a single mask selling for more than 4,000 won (approximately RMB 23).
According to the “Asahi Shimbun” report, the Japanese market needs to produce 100 million masks per week in the near future. Masks have been a necessity for Japanese people since 2000. There has been a sudden increase in “hay fever” patients in Japan, and the demand for masks has grown rapidly. By 2018, Japan’s annual mask consumption reached 5.538 billion. In response to the shortage of masks, Japan has announced that it will gradually resume importing masks from the Chinese market. Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has previously stated that up to 70% of the masks currently sold in the country are produced in China.
Big data disclosed from Alibaba International Station shows that in the past 30 days, the website’s global demand for medical masks has increased by 13,769% month-on-month. .
Epidemics do not respect countries. According to Ma Zhaoxu, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State Council Information Office, China is considering donating to the WHO in response to the WHO’s call for donations. He said that many of the countries that have requested assistance from China have previously provided donations to China. On the one hand, we help these countries to help them cope with the epidemic. At the same time, there is an old Chinese saying, “A drop of kindness should be repaid by a spring.” China will provide necessary assistance to these countries within its capabilities.
On March 2, Shanghai donated 500,000 masks to Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do and other severely affected areas in South Korea. On March 6, Jack Ma donated 1 million masks to Japan and then donated 1 million masks to Iraq.Lang donated 1 million masks. As the global epidemic continues to ferment, China stands in the global industrial chain and provides assistance to some countries to the best of its ability; at the same time, it is committed to maintaining normal trade exports while meeting domestic demand, including mask raw materials, finished products, etc. . </p
