GOVT. TO ALLOCATE MASKS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS

[Anchor Lead]

The government announced that half of all the face masks produced from now on will be supplied to local government agencies, post offices, and other public sales outlets. As the first step, more than one million masks were sent to Daegu and Cheongdo County in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province hit hardest by the virus.

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​A mask factory in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. Workers fold the products neatly before stacking them in boxes.

[Soundbite] (MASK FACTORY EMPLOYEE) : "Since masks are on high demand, I work even on weekends. We are really busy."

Army trucks from a military base near Daegu were mobilized to facilitate delivery.

[Soundbite] "Pull! Pull harder!"

Ten 11-ton trucks are packed to the brim. 900,000 masks head to Daegu and the remaining 160,000 are sent to Cheongdo-gun County. Despite the scarcity of masks, 1.06 million were procured by the Daegu city government and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The trucks arrive in Daegu after two hours. At the Daegu World Cup Stadium, the masks are transferred to other trucks to be delivered to various district offices. The masks will be provided to Daegu citizens free of charge.

[Soundbite] LEE EUI-KYUNG(MINISTER OF FOOD AND DRUG SAFETY) : "50% of masks produced will be supplied through public distribution channels. Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do regions have been designated infectious disease special management zones, so they get the masks before other regions."

Those who couldn't buy masks before were thankful for the new supply, but at the same time are concerned about how long they could last.

[Soundbite] (DAEGU CITIZEN) : "I couldn't buy any masks because they were all sold out. I'm so thankful that they got us these masks."

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety plans to provide 1.5 million masks every day to consumers and medical institutions in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do regions.