General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI have a close family member working in a very large W. Coast hospital.
He has daily access to management meetings.
As of today, patient care staff have been told:
"The current COVID 19 outbreak has placed a significant strain on the availability of PPE products globally. As a result, demand has increased significantly and
In order to preserve the supply available, conservation measures have been implemented."
*****************
One of the conservation measures is to limit each patient room to just 2 staff wearing the masks.
It's also been pointed out that most beard/mustache wearers cannot get a tight enough fit to the masks.
I imagine things are same for other hospitals.
SunSeeker
(51,502 posts)procon
(15,805 posts)Go browse through your pantry to see that most of out consumer goods is made overseas. Shipping will dwindle if workers get sick and there's no one to load the cargo or man the ships. China being a major supplier for everything form baby formula, pet food and prescription meds, is already experiencing a manufacturing slowdown.
This whole thing feels like it's about to snowball and get very bad, very fast without any competent leadership coming from the US.
roamer65
(36,744 posts)That is how this virus is spreading.
Its draconian, but it will save lives.
OhioChick
(23,218 posts)llmart
(15,532 posts)The airlines could give a crap about public safety. And by the way, has anyone read anything about what precautions the airlines are taking here in the US?
shanti
(21,675 posts)CDC has put out a chart showing a shit ton of different beard styles, and whether or not they are appropriate for the masks. A "round beard", mustache and attached goatee, wouldn't qualify. Looks like a lot of guys will need to shave.
Skittles
(153,104 posts)for those who are wondering
I was curious but too lazy to Google it.
Skittles
(153,104 posts)slip them in without explanation.....I have done it myself
Recursion
(56,582 posts)The masks help sick people from spreading it. Goggles help non-sick people from getting the virus. It's not airborne.
Bayard
(21,991 posts)Recursion
(56,582 posts)That's why a handshake is better at spreading most viruses than a kiss is.
Bayard
(21,991 posts)But I'm afraid if someone walked into a bank wearing a surgical mask and goggles, security would be called right quick!
pnwmom
(108,952 posts)and people need to wash their hands well and frequently, and keep their hands away from their faces.
Chainfire
(17,450 posts)Then why do well health care workers wear masks? Are they intending to rob the victims?
jmbar2
(4,859 posts)Overheard the residents quietly worrying about COVID hitting the homeless community. They worried that they'd overwhelm the medical facilities, and be nearly impossible to quarantine.
I stocked up on more toilet paper and coffee supplies on the way home...
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)But was working and living in SF for several years before retiring to her.
and what worries me is that areas of SF the gutters are open sewers from so many homeless people,
esp. the drug users.
Seattle is now like that in places.
Washing your hands often isn't possible, I am seriously surprised there hasn't been typhus or something.
Fix The Stupid
(947 posts)It's all true. I will not reveal any names or corporations, but the message went out over a month ago.
All open orders for N95 masks (Mulitiple manufacturers - again won't name them - HUGE multinational orgs) were cancelled. We were told to not even attempt to order these again this year. They are stockpiling them and only issuing to "core", ie Military, customers.
We kind of laughed at first - having gone thru this hysteria with the SARS thing years ago, we kind of expected this, but this is different this time.
Again, all I can say. We were smart enough to stockpile them this year before the prohibitions started.
Overreaction? Maybe, but I think the SARS thing scared these companies and they are making sure they can service their core customers - at least for a little while...
bern2020
(23 posts)government and healthcare workers