Coronavirus: China shifts responsibility over medical supplies amid mask shortage, rising death toll

China’s economic planning agency has taken over responsibility for supplying facial masks after shortages were reported among health workers

The foreign ministry on Monday said China ‘urgently needs’ protective medical equipment as the death toll from the coronavirus continues to grow

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Staff of Concorde hospital transfer medical supplies from a helicopter in Wuhan. Photo: EPA-EFE

Zhuang Pinghuiin BeijingandZhou Xinin Hong Kong

Published: 5:58pm, 3 Feb 2020Updated: 6:24pm, 14 Feb 2020

China has appointed the country’s powerful economic planning agency to manage the supply of face masks amid a shortage of medical supplies caused by the new coronavirus outbreak.

The virus, which is thought to have originated in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed at least 361 people and infected more than 17,200 in the mainland, health officials said. The disease is spread primarily through droplets from coughs and sneezes and contact with surfaces, though researchers say it could also be transmitted through faeces.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has replaced the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology as the agency responsible for provision of face masks, the ministry’s chief engineer, Tian Yulong, said on Monday.

Government sources briefed on the matter said the NDRC's appointment was prompted by a serious shortage of protective gear for frontline medical staff, as well as citizens in the country of 1.4 billion.

Beijing’s abrupt decision shows it is tweaking its massive bureaucratic apparatus to cope with the novel coronavirus, which has been declared a global health emergency.