The Federation of Medical Specialists (FMS) and the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) consider the use of FFP2 masks only necessary for specific medical procedures. Experts fail to see the point of these masks. Nevertheless, caretaker minister Hugo de Jonge comes with a ‘deal’ and will offer these FFP2 masks to healthcare institutions at a low price.
It’s old-fashioned fiddling about again utility of mouth caps! According to the OMT, the guidelines for wearing face masks in healthcare do not need to be adjusted. OMT chairman and RIVM director Jaap van Dissel explains their position this NOS article: “We follow the advice of the WHO, and it is clear in that. All scientific advice is thoroughly reviewed there. And the view of the WHO that we therefore adopt is that in most cases the surgical mouth-nose mask is sufficient.”
However, the WHO has recently amended the advice. They now claim that there is little scientific evidence that an FFP2 mask protects against infection better than a surgical mask. Experts don’t see the point. The government advisory bodies are not aware and Hugo de Jonge is simply doing what he wants again, so healthcare workers are given the opportunity to purchase FFP2 masks at a reduced rate…
And so capital is thrown over the bar again thrown, so that people who don’t necessarily want the FFP2 masks can still get them with a big discount. One mask is retailed for about 10 euros. Hugo de Jonge’s Ministry of Health has more than 43 million FFP2 masks in stock at the National Resource Consortium. Count out your winnings (lol)!
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This offer, which practically no one in the healthcare sector has asked for, can lead to false security. That is what RIVM boss Jaap van Dissel once said about the use of face masks. If the room is poorly ventilated and the care worker in question stays in that room for more than fifteen minutes, such a mask is of little use. But, of course, De Jonge is concerned with imaging. He is on top of it and can pretend, with tax money, that he is the savior of the healthcare sector.
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