ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The governor of the Kurdistan Region's Erbil province on Sunday announced the opening of a new plant that would produce medical necessities, in efforts to meet the increased demand for such products due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The plant has 180 employees and will be operational in 24 hours, Kurdistan 24 has learned. It has the capability of producing three types of medical masks.

"In combined efforts, we were able to open the factory in eight days, which is very necessary at this time," said Erbil governor Firsat Sofi during a joint press conference with Health Minister Saman Barznji and Trade Minister Kamal Muslim.

Sofi added that "at the moment, the factory has a production capacity of 10 million medical masks per month." He noted that the facility would also be able to manufacture other medical necessities such as disposable uniforms for surgery.

Furthermore, Health Minister Barznji stated that this marks a crucial step in the Kurdistan Region's ability to combat the spread of the new coronavirus as it comes at a time of reduced global medical supplies.

Barznji told Kurdistan 24 that "this factory will manufacture medical supplies in accordance with international specifications and will fill a large vacuum in terms of medical necessities in the region."

With the spread of the new coronavirus worldwide and in the Kurdistan Region, the demand for medical masks has risen, leading to a proportionate increase in prices.