Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A Chinese friend of mine gave me a pack of face masks that she had gotten from friends of hers in China, and the packaging noted that the masks were made in Wuhan. I know, it sounds like a practical joke, but my friend is serious about being helpful, and I know that she would never knowingly put me at risk.
My head is telling me that the masks are safe for me to use, but the irrational part of me is saying "Hmm, these things came from coronavirus Ground Zero. Should I trust them?" So, are they safe to use, or should I discretely toss them out?
A Chinese friend of mine gave me a pack of face masks that she had gotten from friends of hers in China, and the packaging noted that the masks were made in Wuhan. I know, it sounds like a practical joke, but my friend is serious about being helpful, and I know that she would never knowingly put me at risk.
My head is telling me that the masks are safe for me to use, but the irrational part of me is saying "Hmm, these things came from coronavirus Ground Zero. Should I trust them?" So, are they safe to use, or should I discretely toss them out?
As numerous Covid-19 information sources have endlessly tried to clarify, the virus only survives on surfaces for a few hours to a few days. Paper, cloth, what are they made of? The virus is disabled by heat and from contact with antimicrobial chemicals including hydrogen peroxide, ethanol, or bleach. If you are worried about the masks first consider how long it's been since anyone handled them (before enclosing them in a package...could have been weeks). If you are still worried, spray them with a disinfection spray and lay them out in full sun. If you are STILL worried, run them through the dryer.
Last edited by Parnassia; 04-23-2020 at 01:58 AM..
So, are they safe to use, or should I discretely toss them out?
You should throw them out. You should also stop going to Chinese restaurants or eating any Chinese food whatsoever. In fact, you should stop talking to anyone who even looks Chinese. It's probably not even safe to talk to a Chinese person over the phone. I'm sure that there is a way for coronavirus droplets to find their way to you through the telecommunications system.
NOPE. NO THANK YOU. I wouldn't use any mask coming from China. It's not about racist, I have a Chinese girlfriend (from Chengdu, I had to use this card, JUST IN CASE) and she wouldn't even use them. Right now, I wouldn't trust it at all. Or at the very least sanitize the ISH out of it and then put them in the dryer.
Seriously. Even before everyone was told to 'stay at home' this place was crawling with tin-foil hat types willing to believe even dumber crap than that. Since then, the population seems to have quintupled.
Seriously. Even before everyone was told to 'stay at home' this place was crawling with tin-foil hat types willing to believe even dumber crap than that. Since then, the population seems to have quintupled.
Yes, seriously.
You know, I expect to get truckloads of snark over at P & OC, but I thought I'd do better over here. I am not racist against Chinese people. (Did you miss the part where I said that it was a Chinese friend who gave me the masks?) But I'm also not an expert on the transmission of coronavirus. All I know is that I have a package of face masks that came from Wuhan, the very epicenter of this pandemic. I think that they are safe; but there is a lot that I don't know. So I will repeat my original question. Is there a greater than negligible risk to using these masks, based on their place of origin? Or has enough time gone by since they were likely shipped out of there that the risk of infection is miniscule or less?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
