South Korea Rations Face Masks in Coronavirus Fight

SEOUL—Just before one p.m. on Friday, Son Jae-son marched to his regional pharmacy, trying to find a prized product in South Korea: his weekly ration of two encounter masks.

South Korean wellness officers have urged all citizens, even nutritious ones like Mr. Son, to have on filtered masks, producing the merchandise to vanish from cabinets. With his prolonged spouse and children down to just a handful of masks, Mr. Son’s coronary heart sank when he saw that the drug store—which had posted a indicator expressing it would have new stock at one p.m.—had by now attracted a sizable line….