Masks are now common household necessities, but before the pandemic, over 90% of households didn't have masks at home. Since the situation in Hong Kong had clearly shown us that ordinary flat masks couldn't defend against the COVID-19 virus, only masks meeting the KN95 or N95 standards in the market could be used. But due to their seal and breathability, these masks generally needed replacement every six to eight hours; otherwise, there could be negative effects. When the pandemic first started, there was a global mask shortage. Some countries, like Canada, had no mask factories and rushed to order from China. But a large number of Chinese factories, seeing the mask profit, hastily switched to mask production. Their technology and quality were often half-baked, leading to many masks failing quality standards after export, some so bad even the ear loops fell off. Some unscrupulous merchants bought these masks, which should have been destroyed, at low prices like five or seven cents, storing them in rural warehouses. When the second wave hit, suddenly many masks with just an N95 stamp appeared on the market. I won't say much about these. Actually, so-called masks need to meet international or Chinese standards and must have two 25-gram layers or one layer of melt-blown fabric as the filter. During the pandemic, the price hike was mainly due to the raw material – melt-blown fabric.
