page_title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China
section_title: Face mask shortage and production
hierarchical_section_title: COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China / Impact beyond Hubei / Face mask shortage and production
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 1月23日（北京时间），武汉市民在药店排队购买口罩
context_page_description: The COVID-19 pandemic originated with a cluster of mysterious, suspected pneumonia cases in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, China. A Wuhan hospital notified the local center for disease control and prevention and health commissions on 27 December 2019. On 31 December, the Wuhan CDC disclosed to the media that there was a cluster of unknown pneumonia cases related to Huanan Seafood Market after the unverified documents appeared on the Internet. The potential disease outbreak soon drew nationwide attention including that of the National Health Commission in Beijing who sent experts to Wuhan on the following day. Chinese authorities formally notified the World Health Organization on this same day. On 8 January 2020, a new coronavirus was identified as the cause of the pneumonia. The sequence of the virus was soon published on an open-access database.
  Public and media criticism has labeled responses by the Wuhan and Hubei authorities as delayed and as failing to contain the outbreak in its early stage. By 29 January, the virus spread to all provinces of mainland China. All provinces of mainland China initiated the highest response level to public health emergency.
context_section_description: In China, face masks have been used widely by the general public during the pandemic, and have been required in many locations. As the epidemic accelerated, the mainland market saw a shortage of face masks due to the increased need from the public. It was reported that Shanghai customers had to queue for nearly an hour to buy a pack of face masks which was sold out in another half an hour. Some stores are hoarding, driving the prices up and other acts so the market regulator said that it will crack down on such acts. The shortage will not be relieved until late February when most workers return from the New Year vacation according to Lei Limin, an expert in the industry.
  On 22 January 2020, Taobao, China's largest e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba Group said that all face masks on Taobao and Tmall would not be allowed to increase in price. The special subsidies would be provided to the retailers. Also, Alibaba Health's "urgent drug delivery" service would not be closed during the Spring Festival. JD, another leading Chinese e-commerce platform said, "We are actively working to ensure supply and price stability from sources, storage and distribution, platform control and so on" and "while fully ensuring price stability for JD's own commodities, JD.com also exercised strict control over the commodities on JD's platform. Third-party vendors selling face masks are prohibited from raising prices. Once it is confirmed that the prices of third-party vendors have increased abnormally, JD will immediately remove the offending commodities from shelves and deal with the offending vendors accordingly." The other major e-commerce platforms including Sunning.com and Pinduoduo also promised to keep the prices of health products stable.
  Figures from China Customs show that some 2.46 billion pieces of epidemic prevention and control materials had been imported between 24 January and 29 February, including 2.02 billion masks and 25.38 million items of protective clothing valued at 8.2 billion yuan ($1 billion). Press reported that the China Poly Group, together with other Chinese companies and state-owned enterprises, had an important role in scouring markets abroad to procure essential medical supplies and equipment for China. Risland (formerly Country Garden) sourced 82 tonnes of supplies, which were subsequently airlifted to Wuhan.
  By March, China has been producing 100 million masks per day to meet the demand of medical staff and general public.
caption: People in Wuhan lining up in front of a drug store to buy surgical masks.
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