05/11/2020 19:31 – Updated: 05/11/2020 19:33
–
The Ministry of Health of the Community of Madrid has recognized a “misprint” in the packaging of the FFP2 masks that have begun to distribute this Monday in pharmacies free of charge among citizens, and CCOO has detected that “there is a disparity between the technical specifications that appear on the promotional bags of the Community of Madrid and those that appear on the packaging boxes.”
[Cómo y hasta cuándo se puede conseguir una mascarilla gratis]
According to sources in the Ministry of Health indicated to Europa Press, “there was a printing error in the packaging of the first samples”, but they have assured that “the labeling is correct” in which “they are arriving in large batches for distribution “
For his part, CCOO has assured in a statement what has “verified that there is a disparity between the technical specifications than appear on promotional bags of the Community of Madrid —in reference to the wrapping of each of the masks with the flag of the Community of Madrid— and those that appear on the packaging boxes of the same that are distributed in pharmacies “, an end on which the Ministry has not ruled.
“Only the Chinese standard quality standard (GB2626-2006) appears on the boxes and they were manufactured on April 28, 2020, in the Chinese city of Wenzhou. However, on the packaging bags in which they are They deliver the masks, made specifically for the Community of Madrid with their flag, the European regulations appear, “explained the union, which attaches photographs.
According to the reference of the boxes to which CCOO has had access, the intended use is “disposable mask used for personal care”, so in the opinion of the union’s Secretary of Occupational Health, Rosa Muelas, this specification would indicate that masks are “single use” since in the event that they were reusable they would have to have the indication R (reusable) that does not appear in the product specification. If they are not reusable, the health regulations indicate that they can be used to guarantee their effectiveness, a maximum of 7 to 10 hours to maintain their properties, he said.
On the other hand, CCOO has indicated that if the specifications of the individual packaging are considered, the standard, which does not appear on the box, is EN149-2011 + A1 2009, “which does not exist, because the European quality standard equivalent to the Chinese standard should be from 2001 “, and added that”the standard referred to in 2009 should be 2010 to be in force regulations. “” None of these references appears on the packaging of 50 units of FFP2 KN95 masks in which they arrive from origin, “the union has clarified.
“These masks are more expensive than hygienic paper masks, are those that are used to work with patients who are highly suspected of having a Covid-19 or who are already diagnosed with coronavirus. And these are the type of masks, if they were properly approved, that the professionals of the health and socio-health centers are being forced to reuse one, two, three days and even a week, because they do not get enough material and they force them to reuse in their centers “, has assured Muelas.
He also indicated that “these masks only serve for one shift, that is, between 7 and 10 hours in duration, and if they are in adequate conditions, they should be in another destination”, since “for the population to protect itself it is sufficient to use surgical masks that avoid contagion to the rest of the population. “
For all this, CCOO Sanidad Madrid considers it “foolish” to distribute FFP2 masks of “doubtful validity” and a single use for the citizens of the Community of Madrid “, because it creates a” false security “that, as he has warned,” once again, could compromise the health of the people of Madrid and Madrid. “In this sense, considered “inappropriate” deliver the masks to both the general population and professionals, “without verifying their suitability” and requests regional or national organizations to “momentarily reconsider the distribution.”
– .
