"By mid-Feb, the first production lines can provide 1.4 million masks per day," said Lin Yanting, deputy general manager. "And daily output can reach 3.5 million by the end of March with expanded production lines."

"After the epidemic passes, the modified mask production line cannot be reinvented," he said. "At that time, we may face the problem of overcapacity."

"However, we believe each mask we produce may save one more person," he added.

Under such situations, demand is also soaring for specialized non-woven fabric, the essential material needed for making masks and protective medical clothing.

As a major producer of polypropylene, the raw materials for non-woven fabric in the country, Hohhot Petrochemical Company in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region put in great effort to produce polypropylene under strict standards.

The company has planned to produce a total of 3,000 tons of polypropylene. Each ton of the raw materials can be used to produce about 250,000 protective masks.

Hu Meidong, Yuan Hui and Shi Ruipeng contributed to this story.