Coronavirus: almost 400 applicants eye up HK$1.5 billion scheme to boost mask production in Hong Kong but none can meet government’s technical standards

Manufacturers must meet four requirements to be subsidised and surgical masks have to meet high standards in filtration and fluid resistance

FTU lawmaker Ho Kai-ming says even the masks being made in Lo Wu Correctional Institution probably don’t meet government’s high bar

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A billion-dollar government scheme to boost mask production has been unable to find a single suitable manufacturer. Photo: AP

Published: 9:29pm, 21 Feb 2020Updated: 10:32pm, 21 Feb 2020

It appears even a billion dollars cannot buy you a mask in Hong Kong any more as a government scheme to boost local production has been unable to find anyone capable of meeting the required technical standards, according to the city’s commerce minister.

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Edward Yau Tang-wah told lawmakers on Friday that the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) had talked to 381 individuals interested in producing masks in Hong Kong, but none had the right manufacturing capabilities.

“Being interested [in producing masks] doesn’t mean they can do it,” Yau said in the Legislative Council finance committee.

The HK$1.5 billion subsidy scheme is part of a much larger HK$30 billion government package aimed at helping the city’s health care sector combat the deadly coronavirus and bailing out industries hit financially by the epidemic. The funding request for the package was discussed by the Legco committee on Friday.

Prisoners and volunteers in Lo Wu Correctional Institution have been working round-the-clock to make more masks... but one lawmaker questions whether they also meet the government’s stringent standards. Photo: Handout

According to Yau, manufacturers must meet four requirements to be subsidised: to be equipped with the appropriate machinery and raw materials, as well as have a clean factory environment meeting the ISO 13485 standard.

Surgical masks produced would also have to meet American Society For Testing and Materials (ASTM) level 1 ratings in factors including filtration and fluid resistance.