Meanwhile in Iran…..
At least 27 people have died from alcohol poisoning in the Khuzestan and Alborz provinces of Iran trying to prevent infection of the coronavirus, Iranian news agencies reported on Monday.
“Some of the citizens of Ahwaz had heard that drinking alcohol could help them fight the coronavirus, so they used it as a preventive measure,” said Ali Ehsanpour, spokesman of Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences, according to the Mehr News Agency.
With the outbreak of Covid-19 in Iran, rumors and unscientific treatments on how to fight the virus have spread on social media. Among them was drinking alcohol.
However, with the ban on alcohol in Iran, some have been poisoned by drinking industrial alcohol sold in the market for sanitizing purposes.
While the official number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the province of Khuzestan was 73, at least 218 Iranians were hospitalized from alcohol poisoning in the medical centers affiliated with Ahwaz University of Medical Sciences.
“One of the victims got blind and some others are in critical condition,” Ehsanpour added.
Moreover, in the northern province of Alborz, seven people were killed because of alcohol poisoning, Mohammad Aghayari, deputy prosecutor of the city of Karaj, told Iranian Students' News Agency.
abcnews.go.com/[...]

I like the new look of GoKunming. All that black was a bit grim ;-)
Well done and carry on.

Interesting article with references to Yunnan and Kunming.

Why force herbs down students' throats?

Who should be taking medicines? Those who are unwell, of course. However, in Lincang city, in Southwest China's Yunnan province, some schools made it mandatory for students to take a specific herb as a precaution against contracting the novel coronavirus.
Although there is no medical evidence to support the claim, reports say the students are required to buy the prescribed herb at local medicine shops and upload the prescription and bills to be able to attend classes in the new semester. Some kindergartens have even required parents to submit photographs of their kids taking the drug every day.
On Monday, the municipal education and sports bureau in Lincang apologized on its official website, saying the drug was merely a suggestion that some schools and junior officials decided to enforce. Now that has been clarified, there are some lessons to be learned.
When it comes to medicines and health, caution is advisable. The herb, namely "big pot herb", is popular but has not passed any national test. If a kid falls ill after taking the herb, local officials can be held responsible.
Although it is not clear if the herb they consumed was the same as the one being mandated in Lincang now, over 200 students and two teachers fell ill in June 2005 after a primary school in Kunming, capital of Yunnan, made them take the herb. One student even died.
However, this is no reason to denounce traditional Chinese medicine.
Although the big pot herb is a traditional drug, anyone who prescribes them must rely on patients' requirements. Those forcing students to take the herb are definitely not giving it a good name.
The power some officials and agencies wield, refusing students entry into schools for not consuming the herb, needs to be regulated because it is always ordinary people who end up paying a price.
www.chinadaily.com.cn/[...]

@Geezer
Not everybody needs a N95 mask. Only those at risk like medical personal and they need 3 a day.
The USA stock of 33 million is indeed one for every ten Americans. But it is unclear what kind of masks they are; a stock of 33M of N95’s to be used by those who really need those gives some breathing space.
PS: Any number coming out of the mouth of Trump is usually incorrect anyway.

Interesting article on face masks and how to use and reuse them.

By Feb 25, China was capable of producing about 54 million face masks a day, including over 900,000 medical N95 face masks, Ou Xiaoli, director of the National Development and Reform Commission's Department of Social Development, said in a news briefing.
The daily mask output was almost three times higher than that at the end of the Spring Festival holiday in late January.
"Production capability has been expanded to 110 percent of the normal level," Ou said, adding that the supply of masks can meet front-line health workers' needs.
However, Ou noted that as work and production resume across the nation, nonmedical personnel's demand for masks has soared.
"It is high time that we use our face masks scientifically and cut down on waste," he said.
"It is unnecessary for those who only meet one or two people a day to change their masks once every four hours. There is no need to wear a mask in open, uncrowded and well-ventilated areas. We also advise people to extend the wear time and usage of their normal masks based on their circumstances."
While experts and guidelines have strongly discouraged frontline medical staff and others with high risk of infection from reusing their masks, ordinary people can sanitize their masks at home and reuse them so long as the mask is not damaged or stained.
One method developed by scientists from Beijing University of Chemical Technology advises people to soak used medical masks in water at around 56 C or slightly higher for 30 minutes.
They should then pull the mask out and remove surface moisture, then place the mask on a paper towel or any other insulating surface and dry the remaining water with a hair dryer for about 10 to 15 minutes.

www.chinadaily.com.cn/[...]