The twentieth round of facemask supply organized by the health authorities will be adjusted from the current supply of 10 facemasks every 10 days to the supply of 30 masks every 30 days, the Novel Coronavirus Response and Coordination Center advised today during their regular press conference.
The masks will continue to be priced at the same amount per unit. Each pack of 30 will be sold for a total price of 24 patacas starting this Friday, July 31.
During the announcement, Doctor Alvis Lo, medical director of the Conde de São Januário Hospital, explained that the decision to promote the adjustment to the facemask supply program was taken to “facilitate the lives of citizens so that they that do not need to travel so often to the sales points,” avoiding the unnecessary congregation of people.
In response to questions from the media about whether the move could potentially be related to a termination of the supply plan, Lo said, “This is a plan to facilitate the lives of the citizens. This is just an adjustment and does not mean that after this [round] the plan will be over.”
Adding to the discussion, the coordinator of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Doctor Leong Iek Hou, said that the extension of the mask supply to every 30 days occurred because “after 19 rounds people are already very familiar with the process.”
Asked by the media whether the move would put pressure on stocks, Lo replied that the government has granted enough stock to suppliers to ensure a steady supply.
“We can guarantee that all people will have access to masks without problems. At the peak time, we sold about 6 million [per round]; nowadays we are selling about 400,000. I think we can rest assured that there will be no problems since the demand for the product is much lower now,” Lo said, adding that according to the latest data on the matter, more than 100 million masks have been sold already under the government scheme.
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