Taiwan gearing up to produce 13 million masks per day

Taipei, March 23 (CNA) Taiwan will be able to reach its target of making 13 million surgical masks per day from early April to meet rising demand for the item amid the fight to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, a government official said Monday.

After succeeding in producing 12.6 million per day on weekdays last week, Taiwan will see its mask production further increase to 13 million on some days this week, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Chuan-neng (林全能) told the press.

The average daily output is expected to officially reach 13 million masks in early April, when 32 new production lines begin full operations, he said.

To boost domestic mask production, Taiwan is adding the other 32 production lines after launching 60 new lines early this month.

According to Lin, Taiwan has sufficient raw materials to continue producing masks through late June, even if its production needs go up to 15 million per day.

On Monday, the number of COVID-19 infections across Taiwan rose to 195, including 26 new cases and two fatalities.