No chance of facemask shortage, minister says

[ParkerN]

18 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

They are good for the already infected to block their spray. But if most people wearing them are already infected, well, time to get out of Dodge. 

 

That's true, but let's face it, Thais will believe any old nonsense if it means they can wear a useless clinical (single use) face-mask and look all fashionista an' stuff.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

13 hours ago, impulse said:

I'm not sure running out of masks is a bad thing. 

 

They're not very effective anyway.  And if they give people a false sense of security, they may skimp on other precautions that are more effective.  Like washing their hands a lot, and limiting their time in crowds.

 

 

There's no reason people cannot / should not do ALL of the above...

 

N95 respirator masks are VERY effective at preventing the inhalation of any virus material, and at reducing the potential for hand to mouth or nose transmission. They do not, however, protect your eyes.

 

[JHolmesJr]

14 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

OK, professional health care workers are hopefully doing all that correctly, but frankly, that's an awful lot for the public to follow. Also what about the practicalities? So you wear one out and then need to take it off to have a meal? It's hard for me to believe most people are actually following that protocol in real life while out and about. 

 

Sadly, many people have no common sense.

I saw a guy all masked up on the subway. Right hand holding phone, left hand holding 

support. Bear in mind that these hand supports/bars/rails are a magnet for germs and 

one of the most risky things you can touch in an outbreak like this.

 

Anyway, as I'm watching, he removes his left hand from the support and proceeds to rub his left eye vigorously for about 3 minutes. For such people wearing or not wearing a mask is inconsequential.

 

I wore a mask for a non essential hospital check up. Wore it on subway and all the way inside the clinic. They stopped me outside, asked travel related questions, took temperature and put a green sticker on my shirt. Went in...cleaned hands with alcohol spray and removed the mask. On my way out, cleaned hands again, re-wore mask and left. I would not eat outside now....whats the point having

a mask and hand hygiene when some careless person contaminates your food in some food court

or restaurant.

 

I think a good alcohol spray is invaluable...along with absolutely no touching of face, mouth, eyes.

Also, a good pair of wrap around Oakley sunglasses.

 

 

Edited February 2, 2020 by JHolmesJr

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

24 minutes ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

There is a very specific way to put on and secure a N95 mask. 

I only learned this by watching a video.

 

 

 

I think their general instructions are OK... But in the video, it shows the woman holding the exterior surface of the mask in her palms... Maybe that's OK for a new and never before worn mask...

 

But once you've started wearing a mask, you really are NOT supposed to be touching the exterior surface of the mask with your fingers, palms or anything else. Because doing so has the potential to spread contamination from the mask to your hands and from there elsewhere.... 

[JHolmesJr]

2 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

But once you've started wearing a mask, you really are NOT supposed to be touching the exterior surface of the mask with your fingers, palms or anything else. Because doing so has the potential to spread contamination from the mask to your hands and from there elsewhere.... 

 

N95 masks are in short supply and now are being sold at scalper's prices...as such I think its a bit extravagant to use them once and discard.

 

I had two brand new ones left over from the SARS scare. 

 

What I usually do is disinfect hands completely before and after touching them.

[dcnx]

Back from looking for some. We went to 6 different pharmacies and everyone was sold out.

 

These idiots can’t help but make ignorant comments. There’s something in their DNA.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

N95 masks are in short supply and now are being sold at scalper's prices...as such I think its a bit extravagant to use them once and discard.

 

I had two brand new ones left over from the SARS scare. 

 

What I usually do is disinfect hands completely before and after touching them.

 

Ya, I wasn't offering any advice/comment on how long/repeat uses to wear an N95 mask... Merely that the general use recommendations for them are to avoid touching the exterior surface of the mask with one's hand/fingers -- contrary to what the Singapore Health video shows.

 

[stouricks]

On 1/31/2020 at 9:42 PM, adammike said:

and you are clean shaven they will help.

Does that apply to ladies as well?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

N95 masks are in short supply and now are being sold at scalper's prices...as such I think its a bit extravagant to use them once and discard.

 

I had two brand new ones left over from the SARS scare. 

 

What I usually do is disinfect hands completely before and after touching them.

 

Ya, I wasn't offering any advice/comment on how long/repeat uses to wear an N95 mask... Merely that the general use recommendations for them are to avoid touching the exterior surface of the mask with one's hand/fingers -- contrary to what the Singapore Health video shows.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, JHolmesJr said:

 

N95 masks are in short supply and now are being sold at scalper's prices...as such I think its a bit extravagant to use them once and discard.

 

I had two brand new ones left over from the SARS scare. 

 

What I usually do is disinfect hands completely before and after touching them.

 

Ya, I wasn't offering any advice/comment on how long/repeat uses to wear an N95 mask... Merely that the general use recommendations for them are to avoid touching the exterior surface of the mask with one's hand/fingers -- contrary to what the Singapore Health video shows.

 

[DrTuner]

5 hours ago, ParkerN said:

The gel is better for cleaning hands, though it's more expensive.

The gel is that alcohol (ethyl), glycerine and some fragrance like lavender. It's the glycerine that makes it gel. Also available from online.

[tomazbodner]

On 1/31/2020 at 3:06 PM, webfact said:

“Ten large factories in Thailand can together produce 100 million masks a month,” he said. “Domestic demand is usually 30 million, but we would have no problem even if that rose to 40 million or 50 million.”

 

There is also a stockpile of 200 million masks that alone would meet demand for four or five months, Jurin said.

 

“I don’t want to see people buying masks in bulk, though, because that would just deplete the stocks.”

Isn't this somewhat of a contradiction?

[Jingthing]

This is an interesting take on the masks issue.

Basically, it's probably good to wear the flimsy surgical masks if in close proximity to people like on public transportation because they might block coughs/sneezes from infected people.  Just might. 

 

Also indicating that the N95 masks probably won't be worn properly consistently, and of course you need to change them often and they're not cheap, so rather questionable. 

 

https://www.foxnews.com/health/do-surgical-masks-protect-against-coronavirus

 

Quote

Do surgical masks protect against coronavirus?

 

Another thing to keep in mind, if you start to experience symptoms that you need to check out, then you need to get to a hospital. You will want to have a surgical mask to avoid infecting your taxi driver or public transport people with your coughs and sneezes. So I guess everyone should try to get a hold of a few for that reason just in case, 

I feel what's happening now with the Thai population is that there is a peer pressure / conforming thing starting to happen so I wouldn't be surprised if it soon develops to a point where there is going to be public shaming for not wearing one as seems to have already happened in China. 

Just heard that some people in Colombia are wearing the masks now, and not even one case there, perhaps not even one in South America. That's basically crazy. So maybe it's a fashion trend?

Edited February 2, 2020 by Jingthing

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

If Thailand has such a great supply of face masks, perhaps someone in the government can explain why they're virtually impossible to find in stock at most store retailers and online sites in Thailand right now....

 

[CLW]

Dear Minister, please tell me where to find face masks right now?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

46 minutes ago, CLW said:

Dear Minister, please tell me where to find face masks right now?

 

China???

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 2/2/2020 at 2:58 PM, JHolmesJr said:

 

N95 masks are in short supply and now are being sold at scalper's prices...as such I think its a bit extravagant to use them once and discard.

 

I had two brand new ones left over from the SARS scare. 

 

What I usually do is disinfect hands completely before and after touching them.

 

I agree.... hand washing before and after is important... relating to use of masks and even without them.

 

As for the disposable N95 masks, they certainly can be worn more than once... But how long they can be reused really depends on the type of use and environment.  If they get wet/sweaty or soiled, etc etc.  either on the outside or on the inside from your nose/mouth/secretions.

 

With the N95 masks here now virtually unavailable AFAICT, it creates a real problem if you don't already have a good stock in storage at home.... not to mention their use for preventing breathing PM2.5 air pollution during the high pollution season right now.

 

[FarFlungFalang]

When in Macro or Lotus I often see people searching through the raw chicken and meat with bare hands looking for their best pick and after handling every piece at least once then make the choice or simply move on without actually buying anything.I think they (Makro and Lotus as wells the locals) are a couple of generations away from learning about and implementing standard food handling hygiene practices.Good luck with the 100% under control fantasy!All the masks in the world won't help much.Education will be more effective.The self serve of meat and poultry ought to be banned.

 

Edited February 6, 2020 by FarFlungFalang

[ukrules]

11 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

When in Macro or Lotus I often see people searching through the raw chicken and meat with bare hands looking for their best pick and after handling every piece at least once then make the choice or simply move on without actually buying anything.

I was waiting for a piece of fish to be cut when some young 'ne'er-do-well' sauntered over to the counter and ran his finger across a large piece of fresh salmon, made some comment to his friend and then wandered off towards the dairy section.

 

Also have you seen those donut displays, the ones where there's a whole plastic display with lots of assorted donuts on various levels, not one of them with a lid to keep people from coughing and sneezing all over them - they're everywhere.

 

 

[gunderhill]

Never  seen so  many hysterical people covering themselves with what is basically useless.

[djayz]

Went to 5 different shops yesterday looking for a new mask only to me told "mai mee" (no have) and "mot laew" (sold out) in all 5 places. 

So much for "no chance of shortage". LOL Finally got a strange looking one in the 6th shop. 

[ukrules]

How's the mask supply coming along now, are they all stocked up everywhere?

[fruitman]

On 2/6/2020 at 4:10 PM, FarFlungFalang said:

When in Macro or Lotus I often see people searching through the raw chicken and meat with bare hands looking for their best pick and after handling every piece at least once then make the choice or simply move on without actually buying anything.I think they (Makro and Lotus as wells the locals) are a couple of generations away from learning about and implementing standard food handling hygiene practices.Good luck with the 100% under control fantasy!All the masks in the world won't help much.Education will be more effective.The self serve of meat and poultry ought to be banned.

 

Best is to bring Windex and clean the shopping trolley or basket in those shops...It's disgusting how they treat raw meat but hey guess what? The ones in the Makro own restaurants/hotels so they are pro's!!????

[fruitman]

We also went to 4 shops to buy masks but they don't have them anymore....

[Don Mega]

HR at work today said they will no longer be supplying us free face masks as the price has risen from Bt.200 a box to Bt.3500.

[3NUMBAS]

there no good anyways

 

[ThailandRyan]

This is so funny I could laugh. Today I was at Chaeng Watthana Government Complex, Immigration for a 90 day report, helping a friend.  After they had obtained their Que number I thought I would go downstairs to the Government Pharmacy and pick up a few masks.  Of course, they had none and this was at 9 am.  No Shortage at all, especially if there are none.....