As many of you in our Global Business Journalism community have reported, there is an international shortage of anti-viral face masks as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. In China, supplies are depleted. In the United States, major online retailers including Amazon and Target are sold out, as family and friends of Chinese residents buy up supplies. Similar shortages are being reported from Europe to Australia.
Here's a report from Arlington, Virginia, from Professor Rick Dunham's neighborhood homeowners' group's website:
Amid this supply-and-demand imbalance, Tsinghua University is trying to help. Here's a report from the university's LinkedIn feed:
Supply shortages of face masks have occurred due to guidance advising use of a face mask to prevent coronavirus. Workers at TUS Yadu’s Tengzhou plant have been maximizing the production of face masks for the past two weeks, in order to satisfy the needs of hospitals and public transport services.