Egypt's Daily Production of Medical Masks Reaches One Million

Sherif Ezzat, Head of the Medical Devices and Supplies Division at the Federation of Industries said that the medical supplies factories have finished raising their production capacities of medical masks to reach about one million per day after adding a number of new production lines.

Ezzat noted that the factory production rates of masks were 250 thousand masks daily before the spread of the pandemic, and by doubling production lines, the daily average rates reached 750 thousand per day, noting that the past period witnessed the addition of more than 10 new production lines and factories within the sector.

He urged citizens in a statement on Sunday to turn towards buying sustainable cloth face masks, in order to leave medical ones to the Ministry of Health teams to confront the deadly virus.

The head of the Medical Division noted that the rush of citizens to stock-up medical masks caused a record rise in prices, as well as the spread of non-documented factories that manufacture unsafe ones.

Cloth Masks proved effectiveness

He added that the cloth masks proved to be effective in providing the necessary protection for citizens to cope with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, explaining that medical masks should be worn for a period not exceeding 5 hours.

Ezzat warned against the stocking up of medical masks that would cause a drop in the quantities required for the medical staff, who are in constant contact with infected coronavirus cases in various isolation hospitals.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry announced today that it aims to provide about 30 million cloth masks on a monthly bases to meet the needs of the local market during the coming period. The Industrial Development Authority also began receiving requests to manufacture these washable masks from Sunday.