N95 Western Safety Particulate Respirator with Valve, free pickup at Harbor Freight, $1.99

Good flipping opportunity

FYI: these DO NOT protect you from any virus! These only serve to prevent you from touching your nose or mouth with virus-contaminated hands. You'll also need to wear glasses or goggles.

Surgical masks will do the same thing, and for much cheaper.

Quote from b-t-1 : FYI: these DO NOT protect you from any virus! These only serve to prevent you from touching your nose or mouth with virus-contaminated hands. You'll also need to wear glasses or goggles. Surgical masks will do the same thing, and for much cheaper.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-pe...protection


A US-Chinese team of researchers created a simulated examination room with mechanized mannequins spaced 6 feet apart to represent coughing and breathing humans. They found that flu viruses floated between the two and were "inhaled" by the breathing mannequin, but that an N95 respirator sealed to the mannequin's face stopped 99.8% of them.
A poorly fitted respirator or a loose-fitting surgical mask, by contrast, blocked only about two thirds of the virus particles.

You are correct, in that it only protects against breathing. Eyes and other mucus membranes spots needs to be covered as well in-case of coughing.

Quote from tennis8363 : Good flipping opportunity https://static.slickdealscdn.com/ima...lies/smile.gif

1) Buy a crap ton of these
2) Go to Wuhan and sell them at 1000% the cost
3) Get rich
4) ???
5) Dies

Quote from b-t-1 : FYI: these DO NOT protect you from any virus! These only serve to prevent you from touching your nose or mouth with virus-contaminated hands. You'll also need to wear glasses or goggles. Surgical masks will do the same thing, and for much cheaper.

I'm sorry but if these are N95 rated, yes they DO protect from viruses (provided they are fitted correctly - the fitting is important) from the inhalation route. Even though these might be for occupational use but the N95 certification is that they will block 95% of very small 0.3micron particles.

More information here from the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devic...irators#s3

Assuming the virus infects through the pulmonary system, this is the way to go for protection. Of course, if the virus can enter through the eyes (as another poster said above), that's another story.... (which is a rarer occurrence as the binding molecules required would be different)

Quote from CM3201 : http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-pe...protection A US-Chinese team of researchers created a simulated examination room with mechanized mannequins spaced 6 feet apart to represent coughing and breathing humans. They found that flu viruses floated between the two and were "inhaled" by the breathing mannequin, but that an N95 respirator sealed to the mannequin's face stopped 99.8% of them. A poorly fitted respirator or a loose-fitting surgical mask, by contrast, blocked only about two thirds of the virus particles. You are correct, in that it only protects against breathing. Eyes and other mucus membranes spots needs to be covered as well in-case of coughing.

Quote from Ravenx : I'm sorry but if these are N95 rated, yes they DO protect from viruses (provided they are fitted correctly - the fitting is important) from the inhalation route. Even though these might be for occupational use but the N95 certification is that they will block 95% of very small 0.3micron particles. More information here from the FDA: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devic...irators#s3 [fda.gov] Assuming the virus infects through the pulmonary system, this is the way to go for protection. Of course, if the virus can enter through the eyes (as another poster said above), that's another story.... (a rarer occurrence as the binding molecules required would be different)

Believe what you wish.

Healthcare professionals in Wuhan, etc., were using N95 masks, and caught 2019-nCoV anyway. They switched to Tyvek bunny suits with full face shields. If N95s make you feel better, whatever floats your boat.

[for anyone looking to scam people and profit off people's fear, well, FU.]

FDA certifies only the "healthcare" version of N95s:

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devic...espirators

One "certified" model:

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/compa...366&rt=rud

NOT the usually lower-cost industrial versions sold at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Is there a functional difference? No, but the ones "certified" can be priced much higher.

Another scientific opinion, which supports my contention:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/rele...134732.htm

September 3, 2019
UT Southwestern Medical Center

The study reported 'no significant difference in the effectiveness' of medical masks vs. N95 respirators for prevention of influenza or other viral respiratory illness.

Quote from aznxenon : 1) Buy a crap ton of these 2) Go to Wuhan and sell them at 1000% the cost 3) Get rich 4) ??? 5) Dies

Slick dealer alright! But a dead one at it.

Coronavirus: How worried should we be?

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51048366

Harbor Freight is not a medical supply retailer, these respirators are for keeping out construction dust and dirt.
Just don't eat any roasted bats and stay hunkered down indefinitely and maybe we will persevere.

We Will Ignore the Coronavirus and Pay the Ultimate Price [medium.com]
How a decade of artificial fear has let our guards down

Right now, a deadly virus that's already taken the lives of 41 people, is spreading from its origin, China, to the rest of the world. Europe has confirmed its 3 first cases over the last 24 hours along with the U.S in Chicago. With claims that over 250,000 people could contract the Coronavirus in only ten days, it's becoming glaringly obvious the world is facing a significant threat.

Over the past decade, we've been exposed to various hazards that could pose a risk to our safety and security: terrorism, climate crises, and conflict in the Middle East. But the difference between these events and the Coronavirus outbreak is perceived danger: the chance of falling victim to them was a small probability. We were also told the stock market would crash, the death of Iranian General Soleimani would create a full-scale war, and New York would be underwater by 2020. Yet, none of these predictions came true.

This perceived danger has created a sense of fake fear within us. A feeling where we know bad things are happening, but we overlook them as the chance of actually being affected is slim. We know we have yet to be influenced by recent events because we've done nothing in response: the number of terrorist attacks still rises, we still drive our diesel and petrol cars to work, and any tensions in the Middle East subside in a matter of days.

The combination of "boy who cried wolf" scenarios paired with the sensationalist coverage of each and every narrative has prompted the majority of us to let our guards down. We see this everywhere: As people continue to lose their lives to the Coronavirus, others are fantasizing about a global health crisis: sales of the pandemic-themed game, Plague Inc, are soaring and the app is now the sixth most-downloaded in China. Websites and blogs that primarily profit from selling fear are posting real-time updates and, as a result, are receiving record web traffic. Even government bioweapon conspiracies you see exclusively in Hollywood movies are making their way into mainstream media.

Because we are addicted to sensationalization and the fake fear it creates, we are now accustomed to crying wolf, and, consequently, we will fail to react to genuine hazards. What's scary about the Coronavirus is it looks to be the real deal, and the outcome could well be a pandemic. The Black Plague, perhaps the most notable one in history, killed up to 200 million people in seven years between 1346 and 1353 without a globalized world. Nowadays, as a species, we are fully connected and available 24/7 so the virus has the potential — plus the will of mother nature — to spread faster than the Black Plague ever could.

Based on how we, as the human race, have reacted and responded to panics over the past decade, we will vastly underestimate the threat a deadly virus poses to humanity. Hopefully, though, this article falls victim to its own irony, but if the Coronavirus turns out to be a real crisis — and it's looking that way — it may be too late to escape our false sense of security.

Get ASTM level 3 mask, that's probably way more effective than this one. This one is probably not liquid proof, you need that to protect yourself against virus. (I didn't check the details on this one)

No in store pick up for me?

Quote from aznxenon : 1) Buy a crap ton of these 2) Go to Wuhan and sell them at 1000% the cost 3) Get rich 4) ??? 5) Dies

Won't get rich unless you have billions of masks because Chinese government doesn't allow sellers to increase the price.