A new facility is scheduled to open in Kelowna and produce an initial 20 million medical masks in the first week of June, with plans to widely distribute more than double that amount for the following months throughout the summer. 

Warren Jones, Breathe Medical Manufacturing president, says the manufacturing plant has been in the works since March and will be the first facility for the company. Their goal is to produce about 40 million masks per month to meet the elevated demand for medical masks during COVID-19.

Initially, Breathe Medical will focus on manufacturing ASTM Level 1 masks, similar to those found in a doctor's office, and ASTM Level 2 surgical masks. 

“The federal government wants over 40 million masks,” Jones said, which will be distributed incrementally. “[Demand is] a thing that’s always been there, but it’s really come to the forefront because of the virus.”

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In late March, healthcare workers at the Kelowna General Hospital made a plea for masks and other medical supplies. Globally, hospitals have been desperately searching for medical supplies, even leading U.S. president Donald Trump to attempt an embargo on 3M masks being exported from the States to Canada.

Jones explained that supplying Canada’s depleted reserve was the company’s first priority, following their expression "Canada first." 

“There's always been a huge demand, but they've always gotten it from China,” Jones said, claiming that their quality isn’t up to par. 

In late March, Trudeau reassured Canadians that medical supplies imported from China would be tested for quality standards after the Dutch government recalled 600,000 masks that had been delivered from China. 

Breathe Medical says they’re expecting to hire about 30 additional people, and could hire as many as 160 by the end summer depending on demand.