A man with a protective mask walks in a downtown street in Hong Kong, Feb 2, 2020. (VINCENT YU / AP)

Hong Kong government has ramped up its efforts to source supplies of face masks to meet the surging demand amid the threat of the coronavirus outbreak.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said that the SAR govt has bought nearly 8m face masks with the help of Chinese mainland authorities

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said in his online blog on Sunday that the SAR government has bought nearly 8 million face masks with the help of Chinese mainland authorities. That shipment will increase the supply of around 32 million face masks in the market. 

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Meanwhile, the government also is on a worldwide hunt for new supplies, resulting in shipments of nearly 5 million face masks since last week, according to the chief secretary.

Cheung also said the government has so far contacted more than 220 suppliers, up from 140 on Thursday, from over many different countries. 

The amount of face masks produced by the Correctional Services Department will also increase from 1.1 million monthly to 1.8 million, under a 24-hour working shift. In the meantime, the department is opening a new face mask mill in Lo Wu Correctional Institution to increase the production. 

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The government is also in touch with local startups to manufacture an extra of 1.6 million high-standard face masks and in discussion with Hong Kong manufacturers to set up face mask production lines in Hong Kong.