[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-woo] Dutch health authorities have issued a recall for masks imported in large quantities from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic, citing that they fail to meet quality standards.
According to foreign media including AFP on the 28th (local time), Dutch health authorities announced in a statement that they have recalled 1.3 million Chinese-made masks. The Dutch health authorities stated, "After conducting the first quality inspection, we found that the masks did not meet the standards," and added, "The second quality inspection also showed that the Chinese masks failed to meet quality standards, so we decided not to use the entire shipment." They emphasized, "Special inspections will be conducted on additional shipments coming from China in the future."
The Dutch government received the masks from a Chinese manufacturer on the 21st and said that some have already been distributed to hospitals. The masks are FFP2 (KF-94) products, with 1.3 million units subject to recall, but 600,000 units have already been distributed to hospitals. The masks are reported to either not fit tightly on the face or have defective filters.
Previously, reports emerged from the Philippines and Spain about the low accuracy of Chinese-made COVID-19 test kits. On the same day, the Philippine Department of Health announced that some of the COVID-19 test kits donated by the Chinese government had an accuracy rate of only 40% and were not used.
Additionally, local media reported that Manny Pacquiao, the Philippine 'boxing hero' and senator, tested negative for COVID-19 using a rapid test kit made in Korea. Senator Pacquiao stated in a press release that a Korean friend sent him a test kit similar to those used in Korea.
Earlier, the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology reported that the accuracy of COVID-19 test kits imported from China was less than 30%, according to Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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