A local mask manufacturing company officially apologized on Thursday after a part-time worker caused an uproar by contaminating face masks that were being packed prior to sale.

On Wednesday, footage of a man in his 20s playfully putting his face over a bundle of face masks went viral on the internet.

A string of snapshots showed him touching the masks with his bare hands and without wearing a hairnet. He was also caught rubbing the masks on his face while packing the products.

The photos sparked a storm of negative comments on social media, questioning the safety of using masks produced at the company at a time when South Korea is making efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Welkeeps, the mask maker involved, said in an official statement that it was “extremely sorry for creating such concern and inconvenience.” The company said it would take steps to prevent a recurrence. 

By Park Jun-hee (junheeep97@heraldcorp.com)