European Commission suspends delivery of 10 million masks from China

The European Commission announced Thursday it suspended shipments of 10 million masks made in China after two countries complained about their quality, Al Jazeera reported.

Following the first disbursement of 1.5 million mask deliveries to 17 out of 27 member states and the U.K., Poland’s Health Minister Lukasz Szumowski said at least 600,000 masks the country received lacked European certificates and did not meet required medical standards.

The Netherlands also reported similar quality complaints about the masks the country received.

The commissioner for health and food safety, Stella Kyriakides, advised other countries who already received masks to provide feedback on the quality of their face covers, the report added.

Commission health spokesman Stefan De Keersmaecker said deliveries of the masks would be suspended, adding, “We will then see what action needs to be taken if there is indeed a quality problem with these masks.”

De Keersmaecker said the European Commission carefully selected the masks before purchasing, also verifying their usability.

“If necessary, we will of course take any necessary legal action,” De Keersmaecker said. “It is of utmost importance that personal protective equipment sent out by the Commission is of very high quality.”