Workers make protective masks at the workshop of a company in Jinxian County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

To help fight the outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus, workers of many medical material companies rushed to work ahead of schedule to make medical protective items.

Since the novel coronavirus outbreak, residents have rushed to buy masks. At the very beginning, shelves of face masks in physical stores were almost empty, and it was difficult to buy masks online. Meanwhile, hospitals in the hardest-hit city of Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province is also in urgent need of medical materials.

To cope with the problem, medical material manufacturers have resumed production to meet the strong demand despite the shutdown period of the Spring Festival holiday.

Workers make protective suits at the workshop of a company in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)

Workers make protective suits at the workshop of a company in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 3, 2020. (Xinhua/Lu Boan)

A worker arranges protective suits at the workshop of a company in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

A worker makes protective suits at the workshop of a company in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

People make protective suits at the workshop of a company in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

Workers make protective masks at the workshop of a company in Jinxian County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)

A worker transports protective masks at the workshop of a company in Jinxian County, east China's Jiangxi Province, Feb. 1, 2020. (Xinhua/Wan Xiang)