EconMin: Half of face masks on market do not protect against Covid-19, all non-compliant masks, imported

Half of the face masks on the market do not protect against Covid-19, and the Ministry of Economy will issue an order requiring traders to specify this in case of non-compliant products, the relevant minister, Virgil Popescu, said on Wednesday. "I am disappointed with the quality of the protective face masks currently on the market. If I tell you that half of the face masks presently on sale in the distribution networks - hypermarkets, pharmacies, warehouses, at importers - do not comply, that is, they do not protect us, you would say that I am exaggerating, but that is the reality. I want to give a very clear message that this must stop. We cannot accept the sale of masks that do not protect the population," said Popescu. According to him, the National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) gave fines amounting to 18 million lei to some traders who had such non-compliant masks on the shelf. "All non-compliant masks are imported face masks. I want to tell Romanians that we have over 16 companies that produce face masks in Romania, which can provide Romania's entire consumption needs and I advise them to look for Romanian products, because they are accredited, verified and they are the best on the market," added Popescu. He urged retailers and pharmacy networks to stop allowing non-compliant products to be marketed. "We will issue an order stating clearly that these face masks do not provide protection against Covid, so that people know when they buy that if that product is on the shelf and it is called a mask, it is not a face mask that protects," the Government representative added.AGERPRES(RO - author: Florentina Cernat, editor: Andreea Marinescu; EN - author: Simona Iacob, editor: Maria Voican)