The Netherlands has become the latest European country to dump what it says is substandard Chinese-made equipment in the fight against coronavirus, recalling more than half a million face masks from hospitals after they failed quality tests.
The Dutch government announced a recall of 600,000 FFP2 masks from hospitals on Saturday after tests showed the masks didn’t fit properly or had defective filter membranes to stop the transmission of the virus.
Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported that some hospitals had already rejected the masks when they were delivered, due to their concerns about the product. Other countries that have complained about China’s testing kits and masks In Belgium, Leuven University Hospital refused a shipment of 3,000 Chinese-made masks over the weekend because of concerns over their quality, Herman Devrieze, the hospital’s head of prevention, told local media. In Spain, which has the world’s second highest official coronavirus death toll after Italy, the government said Thursday it had withdrawn 8,000 rapid testing kits delivered to authorities in Madrid, and sent back another 50,000 to the manufacturer, due to concerns about their accuracy. Officials found the tests they reviewed were only about 30% accurate. Turkey’s Health Minister also said that rapid testing kits samples it had received from a Chinese company did not meet the country’s accuracy standards.