A worker arranges unfinished protective masks at the workshop of a medical supply company in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. To help fight the outbreak of pneumonia caused by novel coronavirus, workers here in Guangxi rushed back to work, making protective masks to guarantee the supplies. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)

China's daily output of face masks reached 116 million units as of Saturday, 12 times the figure reported on Feb. 1, as production expansion moves into top gear, official data showed Monday.

By the end of February, the daily production capacity of masks in China more than quintupled from Feb. 1 to 110 million units that came in medical and non-medical calibers, the National Development and Reform Commission said.

The consistent rise in both capacity and output further narrowed the supply deficit. As of Saturday, the daily output of N95-rated medical masks reached 1.66 million units to ensure medical staff at the forefront of the battle against the novel coronavirus are well-equipped, the commission said.

China produces about half of the world's masks with a daily output of 20 million units before the epidemic. The country had to launch massive production expansion to secure supply given the explosive growth in demand.

Measures were introduced to prioritize the smooth operation of mask producers and support technological upgrading in the sector, while some firms retooled their production for churning out the much-needed protective gear to bolster the national fight against the coronavirus.

In south China's economic powerhouse Guangdong Province, Guangzhou Xingshi Equipments Co., Ltd, a manufacturer of diapers and sanitary napkins, converted one of its lines for fully-automated mask production. With a capacity of assembling 1,000 medical masks per minute, or 1.4 million per day running non-stop, the ultra-fast line is believed to be among the world's fastest, according to local authorities.