The World Races To Mask Up

Various N95 respiration masks at a laboratory of 3M, that has been contracted by the U.S. government to produce extra marks in response to the country's novel coronavirus outbreak, in Maplewood, Minnesota, U.S. March 4, 2020. Picture taken March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Nicholas Pfosi

Reuters: As virus explodes, world races to mask up

ZURICH (Reuters) - Spiez Lab, a government-run institute in the Swiss mountains, was set up to protect the nation from nuclear, biological and chemical threats. “For a world without weapons of mass destruction,” runs its slogan.

It is now fighting another global menace - the coronavirus - by providing face masks, the demand for which is growing faster than the disease they’re meant to fend off. Hospitals treating COVID-19, the pandemic caused by the virus, can need up to nine times the protective equipment they do when dealing with normal flu, according to the American Hospital Association.

The Swiss lab acquires masks that are past their expiry dates, then tests them to see if they still work. “If yes, they’re being distributed to the health care system via military pharmacies,” said spokesman Andreas Bucher.

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WNU Editor: Before isolating myself to my chalet,  I always wore a mask when entering a store/bank/etc.. My relatives in Russia sent me my stockpile in February (I could not get anything in Canada), and it includes about 100 one shot disposable masks, 25 surgical masks, ten N95 masks, and a dozen masks that contractors use (which in my opinion are excellent). I treat these masks as gold.