People walk past a Uniqlo store in Fuzhou, East China's Fujian Province. Photo: IC

Uniqlo, a clothing brand of Japan-based Fast Retailing, plans to produce and sell face masks of good breathability suitable for summer, thepaper.cn reported.

Likely to be priced at around 1,000 yen ($9.27) each, according to media reports, the masks will be mainly manufactured using fabrics similar to that of AIRism's underwear line, known for its smoothness and quick dry quality.

The brand's AIRism series products are mainly produced in China and Southeast Asian countries, according to reports. But, it still remains unclear if the new masks will be sold in China.

The decision has triggered a discussion on China's Sina Weibo, with some users wondering whether the cloth mask would be able to protect people from the coronavirus as it has to be breathable and comfortable.

"An essential thing for mask is to see whether it can stop the droplets, otherwise it will not make much sense," one Weibo user commented.

"I kind of like the AIRism fabric. Breathable, skin-friendly, and fast-drying, this is all what I can imagine about the advantages of a good mask," another user said.

As the summer approaches with its scorching heat, wearing masks has become increasingly challenging amid coronavirus. Previously, a company in Yamagata county of Japan started selling "iced masks," stored in a temperature of 4 C, via vending machines. These "iced masks" have two pockets to hold ice packs. The price of each mask is 1,300 yen.