The dreadful coronavirus has created its ever haunting projections in such a way that all we could virtualize hearing its name is, a random individual wearing mask. Yes, the virus has somehow become undetachable from the mask and unfortunately, creates more of the danger vibe rather than its perceived job of protection!
Moreover, this is not even the subpart of the core problem which clearly reveals the severity of the real struggle. It is frightening that a ‘piece of cloth’ that was as good as alien a few months back, has suddenly become the most chased gem to such an extent that the ones who need it the most are ironically deprived of it! Supplies of masks have brutally gone low as the coronavirus has spread to every possible corner of the world and nobody has ever imagined the havoc COVID-19 created on its production. The dearth has reached to such a level that apart from its core manufacturers, even the fashion houses and carmakers have to jump into the realm of mask manufacturing. This has also become significant from the viewpoint of protecting health workers and others, as restrictions begin to ease in many places over the world.
The struggles are real where on one hand, the pandemic demands social distancing, nationwide lockdown; and on the other, the resulting loss to the global economies is demanding the re-commencement of factories and manufacturing units. We cannot deny the fact that the economies have already sank into financial crisis all through 2019, since some of them had witnessed diminishing growth, while others continued to struggle with the slowdowns. The over intensified US and China trade war coupled with the rising trade uncertainty further continues to exert adverse effects on the global economy. In these hours of global recession, every nation is trying its best to safeguard its citizens by simultaneously lifting the shutdown to ‘safe levels’.
And swapping in between these two, only the adoption of PPEs, or the masks in particular can dare to maintain a safe equilibrium for workers of every industry vertical. The US, Turkey, Spain, and the Netherlands have all rejected imported batches on quality grounds. In this tough phase of huge financial setback for the entire global economy, such issues are only adding to the problems. In such a scenario, the least that could be expected is diligent use of scarce resources, which clearly is mask, in this case. In fact, many countries are encouraging the domestic production of masks so as to combat its shortage as well as fight against the disease on an individual level.
Last year, China made just over half of the world’s masks. This year, the share is expected to climb to 85%. The global market for disposable masks was worth $75 billion in the first quarter of this year and is expected to grow at a rate of over 50% for the next seven years. The projections are as shocking as the fact, the world will continue to demand for more masks in these upcoming years.
Since the pandemic started, many companies have started producing masks, including carmakers (as stated above) such as BMW, which has said- it will produce millions of masks to protect its staff and other people from the virus. As per the recent WHO estimations, 89 million medical masks are needed globally every month while the coronavirus pandemic lasts. Owing to the fact, entrepreneurs, all across the world, have started making masks, however, not all of them are of sufficient quality to meet the international and prerequisite standards.
