The main reason for the panic buying is the worry of having no mask to wear when community transmission of the disease breaks out, prompting people to stockpile masks in advance. As long as this mindset continues unrectified, the mask shortage will never be resolved. To solve the issue and end the stockpiling, the government should require mask manufacturers to print numerals on the inner sleeve of the mask. Following this method, the mask shortage would probably be resolved within a week. Phillipe Hsu is a public health center physician.

Source: Taipei Times February 13, 2020 16:06 UTC