5.8 Million Masks Stockpiled in Elementary, Middle, and High Schools to Be Supplied to the General Public

Excluding quantities needed during emergency care period... to be replenished again before school reopening

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The government has decided to collect 5.8 million masks out of the 12.7 million masks held by elementary, middle, and high schools nationwide and distribute them to the general public.

The Ministry of Education announced on the 1st that it would cooperate with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' plan to stabilize mask supply in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The plan is to collect some of the mask stockpiles from elementary, middle, and high schools to prioritize supply to the public, and to complete restocking at schools before the start of the new semester.

The Ministry of Education first estimated that 6.9 million masks would be needed for students and staff in emergency care classrooms over ten weekdays in 15 cities and provinces, excluding Daegu and Gyeongbuk, where the COVID-19 spread is severe.

Accordingly, 5.8 million masks, accounting for 45.7% of the 12.7 million masks stockpiled by schools nationwide, were decided to be supplied to the general public.

Schools in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon have already completed the provision of 1.6 million masks as of the previous day. Schools in 12 other regions including Gangwon, Gyeongnam, Gwangju, Daejeon, Busan, Ulsan, Sejong, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Jeju, Chungnam, and Chungbuk are scheduled to provide the remaining 4.2 million masks soon.

The masks collected from schools will be supplied by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to public sales outlets such as Nonghyup and post offices, as well as the general market.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters plans to first supply the masks stockpiled in elementary, middle, and high schools to the general public, then fully restock new masks before the semester begins to ensure there are no issues supplying masks to students after school starts.

The Ministry of Education also plans to provide a sufficient quantity of masks after the start of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school semesters to support all students who need them to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections within schools.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye emphasized, "This week is very important for stabilizing mask supply, so it is necessary to cooperate with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' measures. We have already secured masks needed for emergency care classrooms, and we will actively secure additional masks requested by schools as well as restock masks before the semester begins."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.