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COVID-19 Coronavirus Update | March 2020

ROMEOVILLE, IL, March 2020 |COVID-19 Coronavirus Update

To our valued customers,

We want to keep you informed of Magid’s plans for dealing with the COVID-19 situation. We know that this crisis puts stress on all of us as we care for our families, friends, and employees. We have convened a Coronavirus Task Force whose sole purpose is to ensure that your safety needs are met both now and in the aftermath of this event.

Here is the situation as of today’s date.

03/19/2020 - Special Update on N95 Respirator Mask Availability:

We received notification from 3M that the availability of filtering facepiece respirators will be further restricted as the demand from healthcare and national preparedness continues to rise. According to 3M - In the U.S., this is specific to the following disposable respirator models: 8210, 8200, 8110S, 8511, 9105, 9105S, 9210+, and 9211+.

We can suggest a few possible solutions to this shortage that you can use individually or in combination:

  1. Discontinue Voluntary Use –
    • o Those with voluntary use programs for N95 respirator masks, such as those used for comfort only and not for respiratory protection, can consider temporarily discontinuing these programs until availability returns to reasonable levels. 
  2. Optimize your N95 usage or consider an alternative respirator–
  • o The CDC provides extensive guidance on optimizing the supply of N95 respirators. One strategy addresses the use of respirators approved under standards used in other countries that are similar to NIOSH-approved respirators.
    • Other countries approve respirators for occupational use and approve respirators to these standards. These products are evaluated using some methods similar to those used by NIOSH, and some methods that are different, but are expected to protect health care providers. These respirators are expected to provide protection to workers. Those with equivalent or similar protection to NIOSH-approved respirators may be available to provide respiratory protection to workers exposed to harmful airborne particulate matter. These devices are expected to be suitable alternatives to provide protection during the COVID-19 response when supplies are short.
  • o The GB 2626-2006 performance standard for KN95 respirators in China is identified in this publication and has a protection factor equal or greater than 10 (>10) . As with any respirator, Magid encourages employers to fit test employees as specified in the OSHA respiratory standard, 1910.134 to ensure the respirator provides the level of protection required for each individual. 

COVID-19 PPE:
Virus-related items such as respirators, disposable gloves, nitrile/latex, disposable garments and goggles are in high demand and supplies are shrinking.

  • All our vendors for these items have set up allocations, meaning we can only purchase amounts that match our previous estimated monthly usage (EMU).
  • In the interests of all customers, we are doing the same, so no customer can purchase products in excess of their EMU. 

Non-COVID-19 PPE:
Magid’s inventory levels on non-virus-related products are stocked through June 1, 2020 and are not on allocation at this time.

However, given that we can’t predict or control factors like quarantines and possible disruptions to delivery chains across the country, we suggest you order ahead for non-allocated items if possible

Magid’s Personnel:
All Magid employees who can do their job from home are required to do so. Our Romeoville headquarters continues to manufacture and ship PPE with extensive safety protocols we’ve enacted to minimize personal contact and avoid spreading the virus, including offering additional paid sick leave.

Magid’s Mitigation Strategy:
We are activating mitigation procedures to minimize the risk of an interruption in product supply:

  • We are rejecting all new customers on COVID-19-related products to protect the supply chain for our valued customers.
  • We have been reviewing new supply partners outside of China for some time to mitigate the tariff increases implemented last year. We are well along in the process of resourcing many items.
  • We are increasing production of functionally equivalent products not manufactured in China.
  • We are increasing production in Magid-owned facilities in the United States and The Philippines.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through this trying time. Know that we are working diligently to maintain supply for your industrial safety needs. If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact your sales representative.

Your partner in safety, 

The Magid Team

Looking for more information:
https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html

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