HK govt to distribute reusable face masks to all residents

HONG KONG - The government will hand out 7 million washable masks that can be reused up to 60 times and more than 30 million disposable masks to local residents all for free.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said every Hong Kong resident can get a locally developed reusable mask. The city has a population of about 7.5 million.

Online registration for residents currently staying in the city will start from 7am of Wednesday and close on June 6. The masks will be delivered to the homes of every resident within two weeks after application.

The reusable mask, known as CuMask, was developed by the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. The design was awarded a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2018.

Each mask costs the government about HK$40 (US$5), including raw materials, production and delivery, according to the Innovation and Technology Bureau. Earlier, HK$800 million from the anti-epidemic fund had been set aside for the product’s research and development.

Exempt from registration are primary school and kindergarten pupils, and residents who are homeless or living in elderly homes. The masks will be directly delivered to relevant agencies.

Lam also said ensuring that every resident wears a mask at public venues is very important when social distancing measures are partly lifted.

She explained the government had to give priority to frontline health workers at the beginning of the outbreak due to global shortage, but now the supply is no longer that tight.

In addition to reusable masks, 30 million disposable masks will be handed out to residents at the end of June.

Every household will receive a pack of 10 disposable masks delivered to their home without any application procedures. All of these masks were produced by local mask factories with sponsorship from the anti-epidemic fund.

On top of this, the government will also distribute extra disposable masks to young students, cleaners, private medicine practitioners, the elderly and other groups considered as vulnerable.

Hong Kong Coalition, a cross-sector civil alliance founded on Tuesday, also plans to give out 10 million face masks to residents this weekend in its first major event that will enlist the local community's help to revive the city.