In order to further strengthen the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus epidemic and meet the demand for masks and other materials, 12 garment manufacturers were recently mobilized to produce masks in Lishui, East China's Zhejiang province.

Wu Sibao, general manager of Zhejiang Hongding Garment Co Ltd, said that the company had recalled more than 40 employees and adjusted its machines after the Spring Festival. The raw materials for the production of 500,000 masks are in place and the daily production capacity is more than 3,000.

"It is hard to increase capacity because of the shortage of workers at the moment, but as more of them return to work, the capacity will rise to more than 10,000 a day," said Xu Huijuan, who is in charge of the company's mask production.

The key to producing masks lies in the procurement of melt-blown non-woven fabric, according to Zhou Zairong, deputy director of Lishui Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.

At present, eight enterprises have purchased 5.7 tons of the fabric, which has initially solved the problem of starting mask production. The economy and information technology bureau will continue to assist enterprises to contact and purchase raw materials, said Zhou.