China coronavirus: demand for face masks surges amid short supply in Hong Kong as government denies accusation it stockpiled safety gear for internal use
- Local media platforms suggest the government has amassed up to 100 million masks, creating a shortage in the market
- But government denies allegation, says it obtained a 1.1 million monthly average of the face coverings and gave out ‘almost the same’ number
The demand for masks has continued to surge in Hong Kong as three more cases of the Wuhan coronavirus were confirmed, causing prices of the safety gear to soar and forcing the government to deny accusations it had stockpiled them for internal use.
Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung on Sunday said that the Department of Health and the Hospital Authority had enough supplies of the protective coverings to cope with contingencies for three months.
But some local media platforms suggested the government had amassed a stockpile of up to 100 million masks, leading to its shortage in the market.
The government, however, denied the allegation, stating that the logistics department, which supplied surgical masks to various other agencies, had obtained in 2019 a monthly supply of an average of 1.1 million masks made by Hong Kong’s prison inmates and gave out “almost the same” quantity.
It also said that to support the operational use of the relevant agencies, the department was required to maintain a stock of 10 million masks.
On Saturday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor declared the “highest level of emergency” in the city over the outbreak.
At a press conference, she had sought help from the State Council in supplying more masks to the city, only to be attacked for the remark.
