France has seen spiking numbers both in fatalities and infections, but the country continues to wage its own private war against coronavirus epidemic.
To meet the critical need for lifesaving medical supplies, Macron visited PME Kolmi-Hopen, a mask factory in Saint-Barthelemy-d’Anjou to the west of Paris on Tuesday. It is the largest of four companies in France to make surgical and filtering face masks.
FRANCE HAS ALREADY ORDERED 1 MILLION MASKS FROM CHINA
The estimated need for masks by medical personnel is 40 million per week, a number which does not account for civic workers — police, firemen, and security workers — or those who work in the food and delivery industries.
The factory is now operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to raise production.
“I want to show the exceptional mobilization of our industry to meet the needs linked to the coronavirus crisis,” the president said in a statement from the Elysee Palace of his visit.
One billion masks and tons of medical supplies have been ordered from China, where the outbreak began but is largely under control.
On Monday, 10 million masks arrived by Air France cargo at Paris-Vatry airport. One flight will land every day for 14 days with masks and medical equipment.
