Canada’s Public Health Secretary has revealed that 1 million KN95 masks purchased from China turned out to be below Standard.
The KN95 is a Chinese model similar to the N95, which is a crucial type of personal protective equipment used to defend nurses, doctors and other health workers in the fight against COVID-19.
Eric Morrissette, a spokesman for the Public Health Agency of Canada, said as a result of this, the Canadian government did not dispense the non-complying masks to provinces and territories.
The failure of these masks to meet Canadian requirements is yet another challenge for the country as it fights to secure personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies.
Canada has authorised the KN95 for use as part of the COVID-19 response, but individual shipments are being inspected.
China has become the source of around 70 percent of Canada’s imports of PPE, with much of the rest coming from the US, Britain and Switzerland, POLITICO, a US publication.
The international race for medical gear, fuelled by shortages around the world, has led countries to connect with new suppliers and manufacturers, Morrissette said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada, he added, has been verifying the quality of purchased and donated supplies to ensure they meet federal technical specifications for COVID-19.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said two planes sent to China to pick up shipments of needed medical products were forced to return to Canada on Monday empty.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to boost local production of medical supplies in Canada.
