PPE Focus: Face Masks
PPE Focus: Face Masks - do we need to wear one?
The global economy may be on a downward spiral, we've seen negative oil prices for the first
time in history but there's one commodity seeing an unprecedented boom: the face mask.
We're not sure about any of you, but when we read or hear about mis-sold PPE, we automatically think of mis-sold PPI, and in a way, the two are more similar than you may think. If you haven't had an email about Personal Protective Equipment, you must be in one of the far corners of the world, where Covid19 hasn't wreaked havoc.
The problem is, there's a lot of PPE kit going around at the moment. Most of which sold to the masses with false information on their use and benefits. That said, who can blame the seller or consumer when you read the headlines from the mainstream media revealing the UK governments stance on the matter. Here are some of our favourites;
April 19 - NHS supplies of face masks could be put at risk if the government make wearing them mandatory.
April 20- Government misses out on 16m face masks for NHS in four weeks. April 21 - Government statement suggests the UK does not have enough materials to make masks for the public.
April 22 - Homemade face masks could slow down the spread of the coronavirus, top scientists say as industry bosses warn UK would NOT have enough supply if ministers made masks mandatory for all Britons.
April 23 - The government doesn't believe that cloth masks would be of much use in parks or other public spaces. April 28 - The UK government (Michael Gove) suggests that if people wear face masks to protect themselves from coronavirus could make them behave in a "cavalier" manner and risk spreading the disease.
April 29 - The UK is building a stockpile of face masks ahead of an expected change to guidance over their use which would involve Brits wearing them in confined spaces such as trains and shops
April 30 - The Scottish Government has recommended the public voluntarily wear.
April 30 - Then the return of Bojo, who goes against his cabinet to concede that face masks might be useful after lockdown.
(please note, most of these stories were from a very trusted sourced - the Daily Mail)
Fake news or not, Scientists and politicians appear split on whether people in the UK should be wearing face masks to help slow the spread of coronavirus. We aren't scientists nor do we work for the government, we've just applied some common sense to the argument. Starting in Asia, where several governments made swift decisions to force the public to wear faces masks when the outbreak took hold. They must feel vindicated now when they look at the west and compare the far lower rates of infection and a faster containment of outbreaks. In fact, since the 2002 SARs outbreak and the 2006 Bird Flu panic, the face mask is a phenomenon that's long been common in East Asian countries - which crossed over to immigrants in Far East Asian communities in the US and Europe.
It's been well documented the similarities with the influenza outbreak in 1918 that killed nearly 50 million people, and that of Covid19. The disease struck every inhabited continent, including Asia, and the people on the continent, starting in Japan, began to cover their face with scarves, veils and homemade masks. The simple face cover of the time warded off the disease and stopped the spread at the end of 1919. Remember, they didn't have the science or hospital facilities we have now.
History lesson aside, and if you're still awake, we are selling single-use surgical masks in bulk. As we can't rely solely on the government to provide for the NHS, we will donate masks to the staff on the front line with every sale.
I can see it now at the next Paris fashion week, Gucci jump on the face mask trend and the headline for their show is 'Smog Couture'. The times we live in…
