How much is a face mask worth, when COVID-19 has many people gripped with fear?

Apparently, a lot more than they sold for prior to the pandemic that has swept around the globe, infecting people with a virus that can require hospital treatment or even kill them.

Not even a threat by the province to impose fines of up to $100,000 and one year in jail for individuals found to be price gouging has discouraged some stores from charging whatever they can get away with for masks and hand sanitizer.

Aside from their efficacy, a persistent shortage of face masks for front-line health care workers and first responders has prompted calls for all masks to be directed to them, instead of being used by the public.

It’s also well-established that face masks – particularly those that aren’t as good as N95 masks – are ineffective at filtering out coronavirus germs, which calls into question their value in protecting wearers from catching it.

But masks are effective at preventing the spread of germs by people wearing them, reason enough for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to at least consider recommending that all people wear them in public.

They may not prevent wearers from getting infected, but you wouldn’t know it by all the people wearing masks these days, and the prices they’re willing to pay for them.

Jodi Chan emailed me photos of face masks for sale at two independent grocery retailers, one on Sheppard Avenue E. and the other on Highway 7 in Markham, which were priced far higher than in pre-coronavirus times.

Her photos showed that the Sheppard store was selling 20-packs of masks for $19.99 and five-packs for $8.99. A photo from the Markham store showed a huge display of boxes of 50 masks, piled on skids, for $55.

“I’m disappointed in the people doing this and earning what they’re not supposed to,” said Chan, noting that the masks, which indicate they were made in China, display no regulatory approvals on their packaging.

A box of 50 similar masks sold for about $10 before COVID-19 arrived, she said. Another reader told me that a box of masks with no North American regulatory approvals typically sold for $10-15 before the virus.

Chan described it as an “unconscionable price,” adding she’s “disappointed with people not being able to obtain any help when they may have a low income family.”

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I went to the store on Sheppard and found boxes of 50 masks priced at a “sale” price of $45.99. I also spotted 236 ml (eight ounce) bottles of hand sanitizers at $11.99 and six-packs of Cashmere toilet tissue for $9.99.

The Markham store no longer had boxes of 50 for $55 on Monday, but was selling smaller packs of 20 masks, also made in China and with no markings for regulatory approvals, for $25. But 236 ml bottles of hand sanitizer were selling for $8.99. I hadn’t been able to find sanitizer since this bummer began, so I bought one.

Are those stores price gouging? It seems like it, but I’m not sure, which is why I chose not to name the stores. Under Ontario’s new price gouging rules, they may be eligible for fines, or maybe it’s OK to charge what the market will bear.

Let me know what you think of the pricing I’ve outlined, or if you know of stores where they’re up to similar shenanigans.