Reserve medical equipment to be tapped for virus outbreak

China will release epidemic prevention equipment from the central reserves to alleviate the equipment shortage in Wuhan, Hubei province - epicenter of the ongoing pneumonia outbreak - the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Sunday.

The ministry has received equipment shortage lists from Wuhan featuring 20 kinds of equipment starting on Thursday, especially protective suits and masks, said vice-minister Wang Jiangping.

"Although China is a large manufacturing powerhouse, our production capacity has been limited as many companies are still on holiday for the Spring Festival," he said.

Wuhan has requested 100,000 medical protective suits daily, yet only 40 domestic companies can produce such suits that meet national standards, reaching a daily capacity of 30,000, Wang said at a conference at the State Council Information Office.

The ministry will encourage more companies to start production soon and encourage international cooperation by purchasing more equipment from abroad, he said.