The government will discontinue the public distribution of face masks from Sunday and switch to a market supply system.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday that a revised measure will take effect as mask production has increased and supply and demand have stabilized. 

Once the rule is scrapped, people can freely buy masks without the current limit of ten per week. The ministry will, however, maintain a public supply system intended for medical institutions and also increase the supply volume. 

Anti-droplet masks geared for use by citizens in the summer will continue to be sold through private sector supply.

The public system was first introduced in late February in the early days of the outbreak to address the acute shortage of masks.