Guangzhou holds its first facemask lottery on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Guangzhou Notary Public Office

Cities in South China's Guangdong Province have launched a facemask lottery to ensure a more equitable system for residents to buy a limited number of masks amid the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic that is sweeping the country.

Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, held the first such lottery on Tuesday afternoon using an online mask reservation system under the onsite supervision of Guangzhou Notary Office. Only 3.5 percent of a total of more than 2 million participants in the lottery have got masks, reported Yang Cheng Evening News, a local newspaper, on Tuesday.

The lottery system replaced the mask reservation rules of "first come, first served" which came into effect on Jan 31 in the city and introduced a new system that ensures an equal chance for every facemask applicant to get a mask. 

Under the new rule, residents have 24 hours to register with their IDs and phone numbers and put in an order on a WeChat app called Suikang. The lottery results are posted the next day.

Winners will get 10 normal masks or five N95 masks, one of the most popular makes right now, delivered to their home, but they have to wait another 10 days before they can participate in the next lottery.

In total, 520,000 facemasks have been put into the lottery pool with more than 300 local pharmacies joining the online facemask registration system.

Other cities in Guangdong Province, such as Shenzhen and Jieyang, are also using the online lottery system and offline delivery service as a safe and fair way for residents to purchase masks.

Many users have shown their approval for this convenient and smart system.

"Finally! I don't have to set an alarm for the registration start time every day just so that I can get onto the mask purchase list," commented one netizen on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like social media platform.

While the online order system was designed to be user-friendly, some people worry that it might be difficult to use for those who are not that tech-savvy, especially elderly people who live alone.

"The elderly should be allowed to buy masks at pharmacies with their ID. Technology does not benefit everyone in that respect," wrote another.