I bought two bath faucets. Amazon shipped the wrong color, I returned them but Amazon refused to refund me. They just kept them, wouldn't refund or return. Talked to several people including managers. Still owe me $700.
Amazon works great when it does, when it doesn't the whole system collapses.
In context, Israel had 9 (for 1/40 of US population - similar rate) and a reporter that actually inquired about each case, reported that every single one of them died while PCR positive but corona was not implicated in death (e.g. one had terminal cancer at a “dying any day” stage and in fact recovered from corona before dying; another was a traffic accident casualty, etc)
Also 40 cases of MIS-C; corona isn’t benign, but by all counts it’s less harmful than the flu at ages 0-19, though much more harmful for older people.
And a couple of cases of heart attacks and life threatening thrombosis at 16 associated and almost surely resulting from the vaccine. It’s safe, but not perfectly safe as many believe.
In such small numbers, it is incredibly hard to compare short term safety of disease and of vaccine. (And of course impossible to assess long term effects of either as well)
Everyone is wearing a mask, whether or not they are showing symptoms. SK gov has a mask delivery program through the post office. This helps limit the spread. While the US gov tells everyone to not wear a mask, unless they are showing symptoms.
There are not enough masks in the world for everybody to wear one. The US is best rationing the masks we have to those who need them most.
In many Asian countries the air is bad enough that most people wear a mask anyway for pollution reasons. Thus there is more mask availability infrastructure in place (I don't think SK was ever that bad but I don't know)
DIY masks such as simply pulling your T-Shirt up above your nose already help a lot[1], so not enforcing some manner of mask use for 100% of the population on the basis of an insufficient amount of surgical masks doesn't make any sense.
they are taking masks that could be used here instead. There are so any masks made in the world so every use of one is a mask that someone else couldn't use.
Obviously factories have abilities to ramp up production to meet demand so the above is simplistic. However they can only ramp up so far (or fast) when the limit is reached the above applies.
Billions of paper masks in a matter of weeks? Even if the raw manufacturing capacity existed (unlikely), have you considered the supply chain and downstream logistics?
You know, "if a large enough actor really wants to" applies just as well well to computers as it does to paper masks.
The other day I spotted in the SF Chronicle a picture from the 1918 pandemic showing a gathering of people manufacturing gauze masks. [0] Gauze appears to be out of favor as a barrier material today, although I suppose one could get creative and add a paper barrier layer. There are several viable materials for the goal of mitigating transmission. At any rate, this is something open to some guided improvisation with existing supplies.
I don't think any of us are experts in the supply chain logistics of South Korean face masks. I'd rather read about it from someone who is than guessing.
