Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/31/2020
By: Liao Yu-yang and Frances Huang

Taipei, Jan. 31 (CNA) The Cabinet has approved a plan by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to build 60 lines to produce 6 million surgical masks a day to meet surging demand as people try to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

In approving the plan Friday night, the Cabinet said the new lines, to be built at a cost of NT$200 million (US$6.66 million), could be ramped up to a capacity of 3 million masks a day in three weeks and to 6 million masks a day in four to five weeks.

Counting Taiwan's existing capacity of 4 million masks a day, that would bring total production to over 10 millions surgical masks a day.

The move clearly demonstrated the hollowness of the government's guarantees earlier in the month that supplies of surgical masks would be sufficient and even recent attempts to downplay that shortages existed.    [FULL  STORY]