Suppliers working hard to stay ahead of outbreak

Efforts in outbreak epicenter

Many medical supply companies in Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, have been running at full capacity all through the Spring Festival Holiday.

The frenzy of activity at these factories is in stark contrast to the eerily quiet streets of Wuhan, the provincial capital, which has a population of over 11 million.

To ensure local medical supply manufacturers resume full production, members of a team dispatched by the central government to guide novel coronavirus control work in Hubei and officials from relevant departments of the provincial government have visited many of the manufacturers to learn about their challenges and help address them.

When China Daily visited Wuhan Zonsen Medical Products on Tuesday, about half the company's more than 20 workers were at work making surgical masks.

"I have had no rest since the beginning of the holiday and worked even on Spring Festival Eve," said one worker.

Zhang Wenjing, who heads the company's supply center, said the factory extended its production time from 10 hours a day to 18 hours to make up for the shortage in manpower. Staff now work two shifts from 6 am to 12 am.

Despite the efforts, the plant can only make 100,000 masks a day, though it boasts a daily capacity of over 400,000. This is due to the current shortage of raw materials.

Dong Yan, assistant to the chairman of Zonsen Group, mother company of the mask maker, said these challenges have been addressed thanks to government help.

"What we lack now is only the raw materials for ear loops. But the government has been coordinating to help us get them," Dong said.

All public transportation systems in Wuhan have been shut down since Jan 23 and private vehicles without official authorization have also been banned in the city's downtown areas since Jan 26 to reduce population mobility and curb the spread of the virus.

Dong said the local government has authorized the company's vehicles to carry its workers back from their hometowns in Anhui and Jiangxi provinces as well as elsewhere.

The factory's daily mask output is expected to go beyond 200,000 soon, she added.