Demand for face masks and hand sanitizing liquid has soared.
Boat passengers on a jetty wear face masks in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020 to protect themselves from new virus infection. Panic and pollution drive the market for protective face masks, so business is booming in Asia, where fear of the coronavirus from China is straining supplies and helping make mask-wearing the new normal.
Factories are rushing to boost production as the number of infections and deaths from the new virus first found in the central Chinese city of Wuhan climbs. In some parts of Asia, wearing of surgical masks has become mandatory, for now. "Now we are out of disinfectant gel for hands. The maker just sent just new lots this morning and by noon we were sold out," she said."People keep coming and asking for these products."
Iris Ohyama, a major maker of household goods and home appliances, said Monday its mask sales last week had tripled from week before. It has asked some workers at one of its two factories in China to cut short their 10-day Lunar New Year holiday and get back to work, it said. In Taiwan, likewise, the goverment said that there were enough masks and that current daily production capacity of 1.88 million face masks could be boosted to 2.44 million to meet any spike in demand.
Cambodia registered its first new virus case on Monday and launched a campaign to give away 1 million masks to people entering the country at Poipet, on its border with Thailand.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
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