Several mask manufacturers cut short their holiday and on Sunday began working to meet surging demand as fears over a fast-spreading new virus escalate, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said yesterday.
The ministry has asked logistics service providers to return to work and facilitate mask deliveries to retailers, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said, adding that people do not have to stockpile masks as there is enough on the market to meet demand.
Local manufacturers can produce 1.88 million masks per day, the ministry said, adding that they could increase production to 2.44 million per day, or up to 70 million per month.
Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei Times
To ensure there is enough supply amid fears that the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) could spread domestically, the Customs Administration on Friday last week banned exports of all masks made of woven materials until Feb. 23.
Asked whether the export ban would continue, the ministry official said the ministry would hold a meeting after the holiday, which ends tomorrow.
As there is no sign that the outbreak will ease any time soon, the Executive Yuan is likely to maintain the ban in the short term, the official added.
The ban has come under intense scrutiny from politicians and commentators alike.
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said the government should not be so rigid in regulating mask exports, as the nation has sufficient inventory to meet demand.
“All of us should know how to take better care of our health as the Wuhan pneumonia outbreak is getting worse. Like a war, we should not underestimate the effects of the disease and should be prepared to defend against it. This should be our attitude and our social responsibility,” he said.
“The nation has sufficient inventory [of masks] to meet the demand and [the government] should take this into consideration. The policy does not have to be so rigid,” he said.
Political commentator Joyce Huang (黃智賢) also criticized the ban, saying ministry data showed that local manufacturers produce about 1.88 million masks per day and can increase production to 2.44 million, while the nation needs only 1.3 million masks per day.
On average, the demand for masks increased to about 1.54 million daily during the SARS outbreak in 2003, she said.
The Democratic Progressive Party government should not impose such an unconscionable ban, “no matter how much it hates China,” Huang said.
While some critics said the ban is inhumane, sports commentator Max Shih (石明謹), who is also a police officer, said that it is the critics who are inhumane for making comments without realizing that the nation is also dealing with a tight supply.
“Personally, I would not stop people doing good deeds to others. If Huang and other critics are willing to personally go to Wuhan and distribute masks to people, I am happy to raise funds and buy 10,000 masks for them,” Shih said.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS