Converted a diaper manufacturing line to make face masks

A diaper manufacturer in eastern China was closed for the Lunar New Year holiday when it heard from officials -- China needed vast amounts of masks to fight a deadly virus epidemic and factories needed to chip in.

In just over two days, New Yifa Group converted a manufacturing line in Fujian province to make face masks, tapping some of its materials that would have gone into hygiene products.

"All our staff are working on the masks now," the group's vice president Shen Shengyuan told AFP in a phone interview.

He added that the line can produce up to 600,000 mask pieces a day, and the company is looking to convert another nappy production line soon.

Companies across China -- from iPhone maker Foxconn to car manufacturer BYD and garment factories -- have made similar forays into protective gear as the country grapples with a shortage of medical equipment to prevent the virus from spreading.

To date, the virus has killed more than 1,350 people and infected some 60,000, sparking fear across the globe and causing people to stock up on protective supplies.

Authorities said this month that China urgently needed masks, especially at the epicentre of the crisis, Hubei, where doctors face a shortage.

At full capacity, Chinese factories can only produce around 20 million masks a day.

As of Tuesday, China's mask production capacity hit 94 percent, said Xia Nong, an inspector at the National Development and Reform Commission.

But there remains a need for more resources.

At a press conference on Thursday, Xia urged mask companies that are not yet producing at full capacity to do so "as soon as possible".

- $6 million hit -

Doctors on the front line in Wuhan -- the epicentre of the outbreak -- have had to see patients without proper masks or protective body suits, resorting to reusing the same equipment.

Manufacturers are stepping up, but this comes at a cost, with New Yifa Group postponing a $6 million order to focus on mask production.

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