Suppliers working hard to stay ahead of outbreak

"Today, more than 1.4 million masks will be manufactured in Shanghai," he said on Thursday.

"As many more workers gradually come back to Shanghai, production will increase further. The municipality is also importing masks to increase supply," Liu said.

"In the coming weeks we will not only be able to satisfy market demand for clinical use in healthcare sectors and people's everyday use in Shanghai, but also provide assistance to other parts of the country," Li Jia, a spokesman with the commission, said on Friday.

While promoting medical supply companies to resume and even enlarge their production capacity, the country will also increase imports to meet demand, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The ministry will also make efforts to ensure supplies to the worst-hit regions by directly distributing masks from major manufacturers.

"As the country's mask-production output gradually returns to full capacity, the stressed mask supply situation will see relief," it said.