Japanese electronics giant Sharp is to use a TV factory to make surgical masks amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Axar.az informs citing foreign media.

Its parent company Foxconn has already done the same in China to supply its own workers as they make iPhone parts.

Sharp's high-end clean rooms in Japan will turn out 150,000 masks a day within weeks, Japanese media report, as domestic supplies have been exhausted.

Experts, however, warn that such masks do little to protect against an airborne infection.

Current UK health advice is that while masks are useful for medical staff in hospitals, "there is very little evidence of widespread benefit for members of the public".

But face masks have long been a common sight in Japanese cities, particularly during the winter months.

The Covid-19 outbreak has led to much higher demand, with many stores running out of stocks - along with other supplies such as toilet paper.

Sharp's production line in Mie, east of Osaka, usually makes LCD display panels for its television business - but could soon ramp up to making as many as 500,000 masks a day by switching part of its production.