Coronavirus supplies find their way to Monterey County despite Chinese export restrictions.

With limited flights and government restrictions on medical exports out of China, some in Monterey County are turning to personal connections and clever tactics to salvage surgical masks and other protective equipment from cargo purgatory.

Several members of Monterey’s Chinese community described their efforts to avoid delays and evade restrictions, but they spoke to the Weekly on the condition of anonymity because they fear retaliation against their contacts in China.

They say the Chinese government is requiring an ever-changing array of export licenses and holding certain types of protective products for up to 12 days for inspections. They also say manufacturers are being instructed not to sell surgical-grade products abroad without giving the government the option of acquiring them first.

But there are ways to get around these rules. “It’s our relationships,” one source says. “We know the manufacturers personally so they give us the masks. That’s how Chinese business is done.”

The mislabeling of parcels is one way to get shipments past Chinese customs. Surgical masks, for example, are repackaged into boxes marked as regular masks.

As Monterey County’s purchasing officer, Mike Derr is also keen to avoid having his orders of N95 masks and disposable shoe covers be seized or delayed, as has happened to other counties. He is especially concerned now because of an expected wave of migrant farmworkers arriving for the season, creating a heightened need for protective equipment.

Derr’s tactic is to order in small batches. He needs a million pieces but he’ll order 10,000 at a time: “We are trying to keep our orders to a minimum; that way our vendors don’t get hassled.”