HONG KONG - Hong Kong Radio Television Broadcasting Organization (RTHK) reported on Thursday (20/2/2020) the Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) said that the first batch of face masks produced by the new factory set up in Tai Po was ready to be distributed.
"The pro-government group said these masks would be sent to the elderly and other vulnerable people in society," wrote RTHK.
Production of masks at the factory began three weeks ago with a donation of HK $ 5 million. The first batch of production was completed on Wednesday (19/2/2020) yesterday.
Face masks have become a highly sought after item in Hong Kong after the Covid-19 virus broke out since early January. Most of the shops have run out of this protective gear and people have been queuing for hours outside the shop still selling it for "exorbitant" prices.
Political parties, charity organizations and even some private businessmen have taken action to distribute face masks for free.
For now, the mask factory in Tai Po can only produce about 100.000 face masks per month. However, the factory's production capacity will increase to 3 million masks per month by the end of March, when all automatic machines are installed.
[DDHKNews]
Main photo source: SCMP
