Coronavirus-hit China now battling mask shortage — even hospitals are asking for donation

Difficulties in production of masks have led to an acute shortage in China. The shortage has reached a point that Chinese hospitals are asking for donations of masks.

A man using a thermometer to check the temperature of a woman in Beijing | ANI/Reuters

New Delhi: China, which is grappling with the outbreak of a deadly new coronavirus, is facing another problem — an acute shortage of protective masks.

The coronavirus, which has killed 170 people so far and infected nearly 6,000, has led to a sharp rise in the demand for protective masks in China.

But difficulties in the production of the masks have led to an acute shortage. The supply of these masks has been halted largely because the epidemic has led the Chinese government to extend the country’s new year holiday. The Chinese New Year fell on 25 January.

The shortage has reached a point that hospitals are asking for donations of masks.

The demand for the masks has also reached its peak with a video by The Guardian showing how people are clamouring for face masks at the gate of a factory in Jiujiang in Jiangxi province.

The shortage has also led to a sharp increase in the prices of the mask.

Stores in Hong Kong were charging up to HK$60 for an N95 respirator — 30 per cent higher than the normal price. Some customers claimed that a box of 50 surgical masks was being charged HK$200.

Competition regulators in China have asked e-commerce platforms to maintain stability in the prices of protective masks, a move which has made it difficult for them to cope with the demand.

Japan’s help

Cities in the Hubei province, including Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, has requested a supply of 40 million masks from the central government.

As of now, other cities have been transporting their mask stocks to Hubei. But problems may arise if other cities also face this epidemic.

Such is the crisis that China has looked to other nations for supplies.

According to the People’s Daily, a Japanese city, Oita, has donated around 30,000 masks to Wuhan. This news took Weibo, the largest social media platform in China, by storm. A hashtag appreciating Japan briefly became the 4th hottest topic on Weibo Tuesday. 

Protective masks in Chinese culture

East Asian countries, which are influenced by Chinese culture, may have deep roots with protective masks.

Qi, which means ‘air’, is a central principle in Chinese cosmology and thereby physiology, explains Michelle M. Ching, a board-certified practitioner of acupuncture and herbal medicine based in Los Angeles.

Believers of Qi describe it as vital energy, the flow of which must be balanced for health. The practice of cultivating and balancing Qi is called qigong.

Feng, which translates to ‘wind’, is considered to be one of the “six eternal causes” of disease in Chinese traditional medicine.

A protective mask helps balance Qi by purifying Feng.