Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare Requests increase in production of masks
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, domestic general and medical masks are almost out of stock from manufacturers, and imports from China have been stagnant, leading to shortages. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has asked manufacturing companies to increase the production of masks, and has asked pharmacies and others to refrain from buying up.
This was shown at a meeting of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on June 6.
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, masks for general use usually produce 90 million copies in Japan and 260 million copies abroad a month. In addition, due to stagnant imports from China, manufacturers have almost no inventory, and pharmacies are in short supply at all stores.
The medical masks worn by doctors and other medical masks, both surgical masks and high-performance masks, have little inventory of manufacturers, and imports from China have stagnated.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has notified organizations made by manufacturing and sales companies to increase the production of masks and to distribute the masks separately for proper distribution.
We also notify pharmacies and other organizations to make sure they do not overstock, overorder, or have excessive inventory for stockpiling purposes.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has called on people who have symptoms such as coughs and sneezes to actively wear this mask.
On the other hand, wearing it for prevention is considered to be one infection prevention measure in crowded places, indoors, and places with insufficient ventilation such as vehicles, but the effect is effective unless it is quite crowded outdoors. It is not widely accepted.