As COVID-19 case counts accelerated globally through October 2020 — averaging roughly 2 million new weekly cases, with single-day counts topping 390,000 — several European governments reintroduced mandatory mask requirements they had previously only "strongly recommended." The Netherlands mandated masks in specific indoor public spaces for the first time since the pandemic began; Italy extended its state of emergency to January 2021 and added a nationwide outdoor mask requirement; South Korea began fining violators of its mask rules in designated public settings; and the Czech Republic, facing over 120,000 cumulative cases and a mask supply crunch tight enough to trigger its health minister's resignation, reinstated a state of emergency and mask mandate at the end of September.
The renewed mandates followed a period of explosive Chinese mask exports: from January to August 2020, China shipped roughly 1.14 million tonnes of medical masks (about 114 billion units) to some 200 countries, a 97.7% year-on-year increase. The U.S. was the largest destination at 382,000 tonnes (roughly 38 billion masks, or about 100 masks per American), followed by the EU at 323,600 tonnes (Germany alone importing 65,400 tonnes) and the Belt and Road countries at 164,500 tonnes, up 124% year-on-year across 63 of 65 countries in that group.
With confirmed global cases climbing from 30 million to 40 million in just 32 days that autumn, the piece anticipated another wave of Chinese mask export demand as more governments reimposed mandates in response to the resurgence.
