HONG KONG – The Hong Kong government has provided 30,000 face masks for private clinics after some of them were forced to suspend services because of the shortage of face masks, the Hong Kong Medical Association said on Thursday.

The supply will be enough for 600 clinics to last for a maximum of 10 days, according to the association's president Ho Chung.

The association drew lots to decide which clinics get the supply as around 1,000 clinics had applied.

At least 10 private clinics in Hong Kong have suspended services while others have shortened opening hours or are opening every other day due to the shortage of face masks, Ho said.

The association said it has received another 25,000 masks donated by a social group for distribution to members later.

If the shortage continues, more private clinics will have to close, Ho warned.

The government's Logistics Department has said earlier that it was procuring face masks and other protective gears around the world to meet the demand.

But the department said that some countries or regions have imposed export control on such products, which are also in short supply and high demand in their own places.

Ho stressed that private clinics are vital to the fight against the epidemic as a strike action by medical staff means public hospitals are facing a critical manpower shortage.

Since Monday, more than 5,000 medical staff went on strike to demand a full shutdown of the border to contain the spread of the virus. The city's Hospital Authority said on Thursday emergency services would be severely hampered due to the large number of absent staff.

With Reuters inputs