A worker makes masks at the factory of a medical supplies manufacturer in Linli, central China's Hunan Province, on Jan 26, 2020. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The shortage of protective medical equipment, such as masks and protective suits remains the most pressing problem in the fight against the novel coronavirus outbreak, Hubei Governor Wang Xiaodong said on Sunday night.

He said support from the central government, other provincial-level governments, the military and the public have poured into Hubei. So far, 50,000 protective suits, 3 million masks, and 40,000 packages of disinfectant have been sent to Hubei by central government. An additional 10,000 protective suits and disinfection supplies from the military are expected to arrive soon.

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By Monday, 15,000 protective suits will have been allocated to local cities in Hubei to help fight the disease, Wang said.

As of midnight Saturday, two official charity groups in Hubei had received 120 million yuan (US$17.28 million) of donations from the public and businesses and 1.8 million pieces of protection equipment, according to government figures.