All hands on deck as factories struggle to meet mask demand
WITHIN 12 hours, 300,000 masks were made by 20 volunteers in Shanghai, who had no experience working in plants before the novel coronavirus outbreak.
As an effective way to protect against the virus, masks are vital as a daily necessity and a fast-moving consumer good, resulting in a huge gap between demand and supply.
Many manufacturers have resumed production despite the shutdown for of the Spring Festival. However, with inter-city movements restricted to avoid transmission of the virus, most migrant workers are unable to get back from their home towns and the shortage of manpower has become a major issue.
Medicom, a mask manufacturer in southwest Shanghai, is understaffed. After learning about the situation, Zhou Rong, head of the Symphony Charity and Social Development Center, a charity organization in Shanghai, offered to help.
“At first, I was worried that I would receive little response since it was the Spring Festival holiday, and the 12-hour night shift from 7pm to 7am is tiring,” said Zhou.
But soon, over 300 people volunteered to take the 20 positions responsible for quality inspection, packing and sealing of the masks produced at 50 per minute per machine.
“I can produce 1,600 masks every 35 minutes, so that is around 30,000 in 12 hours,” said Sun Jian. With the loud roaring of machines, few people notice he is actually hearing-impaired.
“I just want to do my part and hope this epidemic will end soon,” said Sun.
Zhang Chengyao, a volunteer, found it difficult to adapt in the beginning.
“The workshop was stuffy and noisy. I was all thumbs when I started, even despite our training,” said Zhang.
But they soon became proficient. Twelve hours later, 20 volunteers delivered 300,000 masks to the factory.
Now, they produce more than 1 million masks a day.
With more people mobilized by local authorities, the support from volunteers have been extended to 24 hours a day.
“Because we need to wear hazmat (hazardous material) suits while working, it is not convenient to use the toilet so I’d rather not go. I can sort and pack more than 10,000 masks a day. It’s all worth it,” said Lu Hongyan, a volunteer and a member of the Shanghai Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau.
The Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce says 17 mask manufacturers in Shanghai are gradually resuming production.
Daily production can reach 4 million after they reach full capacity after the Spring Festival slowdown.
China is the world’s leading mask manufacturer and exporter, with a maximum capacity of more than 20 million pieces a day.
Total output in China has topped 10 million pieces daily as domestic producers hit 60 percent capacity.
That will increase in the next days, said Cao Xuejun, a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
(Xinhua)