Russia To Produce 4 Million Medical Masks Daily By Mid-April - Trade Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd April, 2020) Russia is producing 500,000 medical masks daily and will be producing 4 million masks per day by mid-April, but is still facing a shortage, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said on Thursday.

The demand for medical masks has been increasing in Russia since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has confirmed 3,548 cases so far, with 30 fatalities.

"We are already producing almost 500,000 masks daily, I mean gauze masks, certified as medical items. By mid- to late April, we will be producing, with the consumer goods industry and organizations of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, almost 2 million masks. Let us count, 1.6 million plus 400,000 plus 2 million, this means we will be producing 4 million masks daily, but still facing a shortage," Manturov said in an interview with Russian journalist Vladimir Soloviev.