Penza, 2 March 2020. PenzaNews. In the situation of shortage of disposable masks in pharmacy chains, Alexander Nikishin, Minister of Health of Penza region, suggested that residents of the region should remember the Soviet experience and independently make an analogue of the medical product for personal use.

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"Anyone can sew a seven-layer mask and iron it twice a day," he said during a meeting of Governor Ivan Belozertsev with heads of administrations of city districts and municipal areas, held at the Penza region government via videoconference on Monday, March 2.

Alexander Nikishin added that medical institutions "started sewing masks".

In response, the governor noted that "people should be able to buy masks from pharmacies, too".

According to Ivan Belozertsev, before every family used to have a sewing machine, but now – not.

"Nowadays, people have a right to demand that there are masks for sale in pharmacies," the region head said.

He demanded to intensify work with suppliers of medical masks and consider the possibility of organizing production of this product at Penza sewing enterprises.