By Shelley Shan and Huang Pei-chun / Staff reportersSeveral mask manufacturers cut short their holiday and on Sunday began working to meet surging demand as fears over a fast-spreading new virus escalate, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said yesterday. Asked whether the export ban would continue, the ministry official said the ministry would hold a meeting after the holiday, which ends tomorrow. Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said the government should not be so rigid in regulating mask exports, as the nation has sufficient inventory to meet demand. “The nation has sufficient inventory [of masks] to meet the demand and [the government] should take this into consideration. On average, the demand for masks increased to about 1.54 million daily during the SARS outbreak in 2003, she said.
