Chinese companies are working overtime to produce protective face masks amid soaring demand caused by the country’s coronavirus outbreak.
Five of the 12 main mask-producing companies based in Guangdong province have resumed production after pausing for the lunar new year holiday, the business publication First Financial reported on Tuesday.
What is the virus causing illness in Wuhan?
It is a member of the coronavirus family that has never been encountered before. Like other coronaviruses, it has come from animals, or possibly seafood. New and troubling viruses usually originate in animal hosts. Ebola and flu are examples.
What other coronaviruses have there been?
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers) are both caused by coronaviruses that came from animals.
What are the symptoms of the Wuhan coronavirus?
The virus causes pneumonia. Those who have fallen ill are reported to suffer coughs, fever and breathing difficulties. In severe cases there can be organ failure. As this is viral pneumonia, antibiotics are of no use. The antiviral drugs we have against flu will not work. If people are admitted to hospital, they may get support for their lungs and other organs as well as fluids. Recovery will depend on the strength of their immune system. Many of those who have died are known to have been already in poor health.
Is the virus being transmitted from one person to another?
Human to human transmission has been confirmed by China’s national health commission. As of January 30, the death toll in China stands at 170, with 7,711 confirmed cases of infections. In the past week, the number of confirmed infections has more than tripled and cases have been found in 13 provinces, as well as the municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Tianjin. The virus has also been confirmed outside China, in Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Nepal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the US, and Vietnam. There have been two confirmed cases in the UK. The actual number to have contracted the virus could be far higher as people with mild symptoms may not have been detected. Modelling by WHO experts at Imperial College London suggests there could be as many as 100,000 cases, with uncertainty putting the margins between 30,000 and 200,000.
How worried are the experts?
There were fears that the coronavirus might spread more widely during the week-long lunar new year holidays, which start on 24 January, when millions of Chinese travel home to celebrate, but the festivities have largely been cancelled and Wuhan and other Chinese cities are in lockdown.
At what point should you go to the doctor if you have a cough, say?
Unless you have recently travelled to China or been in contact with someone infected with the virus, then you should treat any cough or cold symptoms as normal. The NHS advises that there is generally no need to visit a doctor for a cough unless it is persistent or you are having other symptoms such as chest pain, difficulty breathing or you feel very unwell.
Should we panic?
No. The spread of the virus outside China is worrying but not an unexpected development. It increases the likelihood that the World Health Organization will declare the outbreak to be a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday evening. The key concerns are how transmissible this new coronavirus is between people and what proportion become severely ill and end up in hospital.
Sarah Boseley Health editor and Hannah Devlin
Guangdong has implemented a province-wide order for everyone to wear masks in public places or face unspecified fines. Videos have circulated of unmasked metro riders being ejected forcibly by security staff.
Search stats on Baidu, China’s main search engine, revealed there had been 2m queries for the term “not wearing masks can get you fined” as of Tuesday morning.
On Monday, footage emerged showing a scramble for masks at the gate of a factory in Jiujiang in Jiangxi province.
Of more concern is the ability to get masks and other medical supplies to hospitals and medical staff in quarantined areas of Hubei, the province where the outbreak began. A report from People’s Daily on Monday indicated that masks were in short supply at Wuhan’s No 7 hospital.
Patrick Brogan, a Briton who has been in Wuhan since 10 January and is now stuck, said there were shortages of masks there but that his girlfriend’s father was able to pick up a box before supplies dwindled.
“We are using scuba goggles if and when we have to go out again, it’s better than nothing,” the 30-year-old from Reading said.
Meimei, from Shenzhen, who did not want her full name used, said she had been trying to order masks from the US through online shops such as Amazon to distribute to people across China, but supplies are running short there too.
The World Health Organization is recommending that people take simple precautions to reduce exposure to and transmission of the Wuhan coronavirus, for which there is no specific cure or vaccine.
The UN agency advises people to:
- Frequently wash their hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or warm water and soap
- Cover their mouth and nose with a flexed elbow or tissue when sneezing or coughing
- Avoid close contact with anyone who has a fever or cough
- Seek early medical help if they have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, and share their travel history with healthcare providers
- Avoid direct, unprotected contact with live animals and surfaces in contact with animals when visiting live markets in affected areas
- Avoid eating raw or undercooked animal products and exercise care when handling raw meat, milk or animal organs to avoid cross-contamination with uncooked foods.
Despite a surge in sales of face masks in the aftermath of the outbreak of the coronavirus outbreak, experts are divided over whether they can prevent transmission and infection. There is some evidence to suggest that masks can help prevent hand-to-mouth transmissions, given the large number of times people touch their faces. The consensus appears to be that wearing a mask can limit – but not eliminate – the risks, provided they are used correctly.
“It is difficult because California is having a very severe flu season,” she said. “I heard that many others are asking friends abroad to buy masks but it is very difficult.”
Meimei said she had heard supplies to Wuhan were improving but that other areas of Hubei were short.
Shenzhen Airlines dispatched a flight to Wuhan with about 100 medical personnel and 10 tons of medical gear on Tuesday, according to Meimei, who is friends with one of the cabin crew on the flight.
Demand for face masks and hand sanitising liquid has soared across the region. Stocks of masks ran out quickly at outlets of South Korea’s biggest 24-hour convenience store, CU, at airports, bus terminals and other transportation hubs. In Taiwan, the government said there were enough masks and that daily production capacity of 1.88 face masks could be boosted to 2.44m to meet any spike in demand.
Everyday use of surgical masks, once mainly confined to Japan and parts of China affected by major dust storms or smog, has expanded in recent years, mainly because of worsening air pollution. In the Philippines, which has reported no cases of the virus, the recent eruptions of the Taal volcano have prompted many to wear masks to protect against ash.
The Australian government has told doctors and staff at GP surgeries to wear face masks when seeing patients who may be carrying the virus, and said it was prepared to use a national stockpile to make sure there are enough to go around.
Jin Wei, a Chinese student studying in Melbourne, told the Guardian he and several of his friends had bought masks to send home to family in China. “It is still possible to buy the masks online, but many of the outlets in China are running out of stock,” he said.
Wing Kuang, a Melbourne University student from China, said many pharmacies in the city had run out of masks when she tried to purchase some last week.
Despite all the concern about masks, Dr Maia Majumder, a faculty member at Harvard Medical School who has studied Sars and Mers outbreaks, has said mask use is not as important as many people are making it out to be, particularly for most healthy people.
“For healthy folks who are around other healthy folks, the first line of defence remains hand-washing with soap, coughing into the crook of one’s arm instead of your hands, and avoiding contact with mucus membranes [of the mouth, nose, or eyes],” Majumder said.
“Surgical masks, however, are wise to wear for those who’re exhibiting respiratory symptoms or those who live with people who do.”
Additional reporting by Else Kennedy in Melbourne
