Why Can’t You Buy a Mask? | PaperClip
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Shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19 started, China’s supply of medical facemasks quickly began to dry up. In 2019, producing about 10 million per day, Chinese manufacturers accounted for half of the global supply of masks. Yet, there was a national shortage during the initial period of the outbreak in late January and February as demand skyrocketed. Between January 24 and February 11, China imported 730 million masks. Since then, the government has dramatically expanded production capacity, increasing production to 116 million per day by the end of February. This video, released on February 29, explains the production stream of facemasks in China in the weeks following the Lunar New Year holiday, explaining the shortages, price hikes, and ramping up of manufacturing of one of the most sought-after safety devices in this crisis.
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Shortly after the outbreak of COVID-19 started, China’s supply of medical facemasks quickly began to dry up. In 2019, producing about 10 million per day, Chinese manufacturers accounted for half of the global supply of masks. Yet, there was a national shortage during the initial period of the outbreak in late January and February as demand skyrocketed. Between January 24 and February 11, China imported 730 million masks. Since then, the government has dramatically expanded production capacity, increasing production to 116 million per day by the end of February. This video, released on February 29, explains the production stream of facemasks in China in the weeks following the Lunar New Year holiday, explaining the shortages, price hikes, and ramping up of manufacturing of one of the most sought-after safety devices in this crisis.