Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

Taiwan has created an app in order to make sure that there are enough supplies of surgical face masks.

Taiwan has been widely praised for the quick way it reacted to the coronavirus outbreak in part because speaking Chinese they were aware earlier of the risks, and after sending a team to the mainland they quickly implemented their own quarantine measures.

A key part of that involved not only making sure there are enough supplies of masks to prevent the disease, but also to make people reassured that they had the necessary preventative measures to hand.

The sales of masks were rationed early on at a low price and an extra production line was set up with soldiers joining local workers to significantly increase production.

The app shows locals where the masks are available for sale, the number of masks that each store has available, and opening times and directions on how to get there.

It also saves time and is being used by officials to make sure masks are allocated equally in the different regions of the city.

People in Taiwan are guaranteed the possibility of buying up to 3 masks a day, with the government taking control of all production to ensure it reaches where it’s most needed.

Pamela Wang responsible for distributing masks at pharmacy said: “At the end of the day it’s about making people feel secure, and stopping them worrying.”

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