NEWS
Egyptian factory doubles medical mask production to fight COVID-19 spread
To meet the huge demand amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, Egypt's largest factory of disposable medical products has more than doubled production of medical masks. "We used to produce some 30-50 thousand masks a day before the outbreak of coronavirus. Our daily production has now increased to some 130,000 masks," manager of Medic said.
As one of the pioneer companies in the Middle East, Medic specialized in the manufacture of medical clothes such as sterile surgical gowns, patient gowns, caps, masks, overshoes and sterile medical drapes. Inside the company, over 650 workers are racing against time to produce daily outputs of face masks that have been ordered by several clients.
"We do not export our products to other countries because we are the main supplier of the public hospitals, health ministry and the armed forces," Suleiman said as he observed workers packing new masks and prepare them to be transported to the health ministry's warehouses.
Regarding the recent price hikes of medical supplies in the Egyptian market, Suleiman said prices for the company's products have recently went up by 10 percent because the consumption of electricity has increased after the factory adopted 24/7 work policy.
Suleiman noted that 90 percent of the machines used in the factory were imported from China, pointing out that the company also "relies on China for getting spare parts." He mentioned the factory had provided the health ministry with 350,000 masks which were later sent as a donation from Egypt to China to help fight the coronavirus outbreak.
