About 37 million surgical masks will be put on the Hong Kong market soon, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said on Thursday.

The move aims to alleviate a citywide shortage of such masks in the wake of a possible local outbreak of the novel coronavirus epidemic, which was first reported in Wuhan, the capital city of Central China's Hubei province.

Briefing the media on Thursday afternoon, Cheung said the SAR government has secured 8 million surgical masks thanks to the help of mainland authorities. Some of the masks arrived in the city on Thursday, he added.

Another batch of 24 million from the mainland will come soon, Cheung said.

Meanwhile, the government has also ordered 5 million surgical masks from about 140 suppliers worldwide, and they will also be sent to the city soon.

Yet throughout the briefing, Cheung did not say when these imported masks will be put on the market.

He added that relative measures will also be taken to improve local productivity. The government is planning to improve the monthly surgical mask production of the Lo Wu Correctional Institution from 1.1 million to 1.8 million, Cheung said.

To achieve that, the working hours of a manufacturing factory in the institution will be extended to 24 hours; and the institution will set up another factory for surgical mask production as soon as next week, Cheung said.