- It found that the masks were failing to meet safety requirements, Dutch media reported.
- The masks were failing to stop coronavirus particles pass through, the report said.
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The Netherlands has recalled 600,000 coronavirus face masks it imported from China after discovering they were faulty
The Netherlands has asked hospitals to give back around 600,000 face masks it imported from China.
Mark Rutte
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The Dutch government has recalled over half a million face masks it imported from China after discovering that they were faulty.
The Netherlands said on Saturday that it had asked its hospitals to return around 600,000 face masks which health professionals are using to treat patients of the coronavirus.
"The mouth masks that are not satisfactory have been retrieved," Holland's Ministry of Health told Dutch broadcaster NOS.
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The NOS reported that the faulty masks fail to meet safety requirements because they did not fit on the faces of doctors and nurses and were failing to prevent particles of the COVID-19 virus passing through.
One hospital worker quoted by the NOS said: "When they were delivered to our hospital, I immediately rejected those masks... If those masks do not close properly, the virus particles can simply pass. We do not use them.
"That is unsafe for our people."
The Netherlands, like its European neighbours, has introduced strict social distancing measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mark Rutte moved to close all bars, restaurants, and schools.
It had reported 9,762 confirmed cases of the virus and 639 deaths linked to it at the time of writing.
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It is not the only European country to report receiving faulty equipment from China.
Microbiology experts in Spain this week said that rapid coronavirus tests that the country bought from the Chinese state are not consistently detecting positive cases.
Studies on these tests found that they had only 30% sensitivity, meaning they correctly identified people with the virusonly 30% of the time, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pas .
Medical professionals in the Czech Republic have also said that rapid tests from China were not working properly.
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See Also:
- Boris Johnson's government is reportedly furious with China and believes it could have 40 times more coronavirus cases than it claims
- The UK government claims it failed to take part in an EU scheme for coronavirus ventilators because it didn't see the email asking it to take part
- Dr. Fauci dunked on Trump's intent to open the country by Easter, saying we can't 'arbitrarily' bring things back to normal
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