The spread of the global epidemic has escalated, and the situation of “it is hard to find a mask” has been repeated in many overseas countries.
According to CBS reports, people queued up to buy masks at a medical device store in Houston, Texas, recently. The price of a single N95 mask has risen to $20. Masks were sold out on e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay, and some unscrupulous merchants raised the price of masks to US$1,000.
According to other news, Trump, who previously judged that “the epidemic is less dangerous”, has also changed his tune. Officials revealed that the government said it may consider using “wartime laws”. Expand the production of masks and protective equipment. There is currently a shortage of 270 million medical masks in the United States.
In addition, the shortage of masks is spreading in various countries: among them, the demand for masks in South Korea has increased by as much as 7650%, and the government has announced supervision of export masks; Italy has begun to restrict the purchase of masks, and Japan has accelerated its expansion of production capacity. . The WHO said that the global demand for masks and other protective equipment has surged by more than 100 times!
The United States is in urgent need of masks
Merchants raise prices and e-commerce platforms sell them Empty
With the outbreak of the epidemic in the United States, masks have also become a scarce resource in the United States.
According to reports from the US CBS affiliated TV station KHOU, in the past few days, people have been queuing up in front of the Holcombe medical device store in Houston, Texas, waiting for the store to open to buy N95s. Face mask.
The person in charge of the store said that the demand for masks began to surge in January. “We contacted suppliers to provide us with masks so that we can sell them to customers so that they can I feel safe in such an environment.”
The report said that at the Holcombe medical device store, an N95 mask sells for US$20 (approximately RMB 140) to US$25. (approximately RMB 175). The person in charge said that the price increase was due to the shortage of masks.
At the same time, masks on American e-commerce platforms are also out of stock. Prices for N95 masks began to soar in January, according to data from a company that tracks prices on Amazon. It is reported that dozens of mask products on Amazon are still sold out.
According to reports from the US Business Insider website, some unscrupulous sellers have even begun to sell masks at increased prices on eBay. Under normal circumstances, ordinary 3M masks can be bought for only a few dollars, but now these masks have been increased in price to between 40 and 1,000 US dollars (approximately 280.9-7021.4 yuan).
According to Fox News in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated on the 25th that there is a possibility that the new coronavirus will spread in the United States and may cause serious disruption to people’s daily life. The public responded strongly to this warning, with many types of masks sold out on Amazon, eBay and other e-commerce sites.
Trump may consider “wartime laws”
U.S. Requiring medical protection giants to return to China for production
It is worth noting that, changing its previous attitude of confidence in epidemic control, the Trump administration is concerned about the current fermentation of the epidemic in the United States and the shortage of masks. I also started to feel anxious.
According to Global Network, two U.S. officials said that the Trump administration is considering using special powers granted by the Defense Production Act to rapidly expand the supply of protective masks. and domestic production scale of protective clothing to respond to the new coronavirus epidemic. The U.S. Congress passed the above-mentioned laws in 1950 at the beginning of the Korean War. If the powers granted by the law are exercised, it will mark an escalation in the Trump administration’s epidemic response.
According to US media reports, the United States is requiring four overseas companies that have invested in Asia’s largest economy to return home to produce masks and other medical protection supplies to meet the needs of the continental United States. It is reported that well-known mask companies invested by the United States in Asia’s largest economy include 3M and Honeywell.
However, the above-mentioned report pointed out that U.S. Department of Health officials pointed out that many raw materials for the production of related products require supply from the Chinese market. Another person familiar with the matter also pointed out that there are almost no companies in the United States that manufacture the above-mentioned materials. If you want to rely on your own capabilities to complete production, it may be a difficult task.
Just this Tuesday, US Health Secretary Alex Azar said that the current national strategic reserve only has 30 million masks, but the demand for masks for medical staff is 300 million. , so it is necessary to request Congress to appropriate funds to purchase supplies.
However, the control situation of the epidemic in the United States is worrying. California Governor Gavin Newsom said on the 27th that 33 people in California have tested positive for the new coronavirus and that at least 8,400 people are currently being monitored for infection. Newsom pointed out that California health officials currently only have 200 test reagents. He said: “We only have a few hundred test kits, including surveillance tests and diagnostic tests. This is simply not enough to solve the current problems that need to be solved.”
Interestingly, the outbreak At this stage, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an article not recommending that healthy people wear masks to prevent respiratory diseases, including the new coronavirus. The article states that masks should be reserved for those with symptoms of COVID-19 to prevent spreading the disease to others. American netizens did not buy this suggestion.
<img width=100% height=auto data-preAfter 1 million pieces, my country's daily production capacity of medical masks reached 32.12 million pieces on February 25, and the daily output reached 30.28 million pieces; including ordinary masks, medical masks, and medical N95 masks, the national daily mask production capacity reached 72.85 million pieces, and the daily output Reaching 76.19 million pieces, 3.4 times and 7.8 times respectively on February 1, the mask production capacity utilization rate reached 105%, initially easing the contradiction between supply and demand of masks.
More and more companies are preparing to export masks to overseas markets after expanding their mask production capacity.
On February 28, Xinye Textile said that Vietnam is currently in urgent need of textile raw materials and the company’s textile products can be used in the production of masks; a small amount of the company’s products are exported to Vietnam. Aojiahua stated on the interactive platform that the professional antibacterial masks produced by the company are mainly exported to countries such as North America, Southeast Asia, Japan, etc. The mask is currently available on the company’s e-commerce platform.
Currently, many investors have begun to ask questions to listed companies, including 159 questions on the Huayi platform regarding the export of masks.
Zhongtai Securities believes that from the demand side, overseas epidemics lag behind China and are currently in the early stages of the outbreak. Masks are out of stock in serious areas. Judging from global mask purchase restrictions and skyrocketing prices, the demand for masks has increased sharply. From the supply side, in order to meet domestic market demand and increase exports, domestic mask production capacity needs to continue to be increased.
Guolian Securities believes that although many companies have switched production across borders, the shortage of upstream raw materials for melt-blown non-woven fabrics cannot be solved in the short term. With the arrival of the resumption of work and the overseas epidemic, The epidemic continues to ferment, and the short-term global mask shortage will continue. In the medium term, after the epidemic, the state, hospitals, local governments, enterprises and households will have greater incentives to maintain strategic reserves of specific amounts of masks and other preventive materials.
▲Italy urgently set up inflatable tents for medical treatment, and the overseas Chinese industry suffered heavy losses
The global epidemic is escalating
Some countries recommend stocking up on medicines and food
The spread of the global epidemic It is worrying that countries are accelerating relevant measures to prevent and control the epidemic.
According to Korean media reports, as of 9 a.m. local time on the 28th, South Korea had 256 new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia compared with 4 p.m. the previous day, and the total number of confirmed cases reached 2,022. As the COVID-19 epidemic in South Korea intensifies, many countries have adopted entry control measures against South Korea.
In addition to South Korea, the epidemic in Italy is also rising very fast. On the evening of the 27th local time, Borrelli, the head of the Italian Civil Protection Department, said in a routine epidemic report that as of 18:00 that day, there were 650 confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia in the country, an increase of 250 cases in 24 hours.
At 5:30 pm on February 28, the Prime Minister of New Zealand confirmed that New Zealand had its first confirmed case of COVID-19. The confirmed patient was a New Zealand permanent resident and had recently traveled to Iran. New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said the current travel ban from New Zealand will be extended to Iran. In addition, Chinese students will not be exempted from the travel ban.
Since Iran announced the diagnosis of its first case of new coronavirus, the epidemic in Iran is gradually worsening, including the Vice President of Iran, the Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Parliament, and the Deputy Minister of Health. Three officials inside were confirmed to be infected. Currently, the number of confirmed cases and deaths in Iran is rising rapidly, with a total of 270 confirmed cases, including 26 deaths.
Due to the emergence of the epidemic, many countries have begun to recommend that residents stock up on medicines and video resources needed during isolation.
According to German media reports, there were 7 new confirmed cases of new coronavirus pneumonia on February 26 in the three western German states of Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Rhine-Westphalia. The Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief under the German Federal Ministry of the Interior proposes that every adult should stock up on food that can last for 10 days. The agency has also developed a “food list”.
At the same time, the above-mentioned German Rescue Agency also requires each family to prepare emergency medicines, masks, disinfectants, first aid kits, candles, camping stoves, flashlights, spare batteries, identity documents, etc. Almost every family in Germany has a basement. During the current epidemic, the basement has also become an epidemic prevention room for Germans to store various epidemic prevention materials.
On February 27, local time, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated in Geneva that areas outside China are now the biggest concern. The global epidemic is at a critical moment and it is recommended that all countries respond quickly Take action. But the new coronavirus is not influenza. China’s epidemic prevention experience shows that as long as the correct measures are taken, the epidemic can be controlled. </p
