Face mask production booming in Guangdong

Guangdong province in South China has added 555 new face mask manufacturers in the past two months, ranking at the top of Chinese mainland cities for the growth of such companies.

Guangdong, a major global production base for products of all kinds, can now make more than 20 million face masks daily. The province is expected to play an important role in controlling the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, Yangcheng Evening News reported.

China has added 2,957 new mask companies nationwide since the epidemic began in Wuhan, Hubei province, late last year.

Other provinces that have added face mask manufacturers include Jiangsu, Shandong and Zhejiang, all in East China, the report said.

Government departments in Guangdong, of China's reform and opening-up policy, have simplified procedures and encouraged local companies to build new facilities and change production lines and equipment to produce masks, which have been in short supply, the newspaper said.

Many companies in the garment, chemical, medicine and automobile industries have switched their production lines to manufacture masks to help meet the growing demand from society — especially medical personnel —in the fight against the coronavirus.

As of Tuesday, Guangdong, whose population exceeds 113 million, had reported 1,350 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with seven deaths.

Of the confirmed patients, 1,129 have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals.