Nghe An people looking to buy cloth masks to prevent epidemic
(Baonghean.vn) - In the face of the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic, to protect the health of themselves and their families, many people are looking to buy medical masks. However, for nearly 2 months now, medical masks have been scarce and difficult to buy, so many people have switched to choosing cloth masks. The cloth mask market has become more vibrant these days.
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| Cloth masks are currently being chosen by many people when medical masks are scarce. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien's family in Nam Xuan commune (Nam Dan) has 4 members, currently 2 children are in high school and her husband works as a motorbike taxi driver, she sells at Sa Nam town market and often comes into contact with many people, so she really needs masks. On average, 4 medical masks are needed every day to protect health.
Last time, she asked an acquaintance in Saigon to send her 2 boxes of medical masks (100 pieces), but now they are all used up. Now that the epidemic is complicated, she went to Western pharmacies in Vinh to buy them but couldn't find any. With no other choice, she switched to buying antibacterial nano fabric masks to use. Ms. Hien said: "I bought them to try, saw the label, clear origin and advertised as antibacterial nano sterilization, so I had to accept it, there was no other choice. 10 pieces cost 150,000 VND but can be reused many times."
For over a month now, medical masks have been in short supply in Nghe An. Currently, pharmacies, supermarkets, and stores have posted signs saying they are out of medical masks. In addition, on websites, many individuals are selling medical masks at "confused" prices, with some selling them for 300,000-400,000 VND/box, while others are selling them for 50,000-70,000 VND/box, leaving consumers in a "matrix" of not knowing who to believe.
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| Purchasing power of cloth masks is gradually increasing but prices are quite stable. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
On the other hand, many cases of fraud involving collecting money to order medical masks and then appropriating them, and many cases of fake medical mask production have been exposed, making consumers feel uneasy. While they cannot buy medical masks at pharmacies, most consumers have switched to using cloth masks, so the purchasing power of this item has increased by about 20-30%.
Currently on the market, antibacterial cloth masks are sold at many different prices: 40-50,000 VND/piece for 3-layer cloth masks with activated fibers or activated carbon filters with antibacterial effects; 8-15,000 VND/piece for Dong Xuan cloth masks of textile companies; 3-layer Japanese masks cost 35,000 VND/piece...
A female owner of a pharmacy on Tue Tinh Street (Vinh City) said: “There is no longer any source of medical masks, only various types of cloth masks. Many people, after asking to buy medical masks but not having them, have switched to buying cloth masks. The demand for cloth masks has increased sharply in the past two days.”
In the markets, regular cloth masks are also sold quite a lot and consumed quite quickly in recent days. With prices ranging from 8,000 VND - 15,000 VND/piece, thick, eye-catching patterns, and especially easy to wash and reuse many times, many people, especially those with low incomes, are looking to buy them.
According to the recommendations of the Ministry of Health, most types of masks such as: 3-layer medical masks, 3M masks, N95 cloth masks... can be used to prevent droplets from people around such as coughing, sneezing, nasal mucus, spitting. Therefore, if people cannot buy medical masks, they should not worry too much, instead, people can wear regular cloth masks.
However, wearing a medical mask, also known as an activated mask, is a disposable mask. Cloth masks can be used many times, so people need to have a few to wash regularly at least once a day.