The masks that the Madrid government distributes since Monday fail to comply with up to 19 requirements of European regulations and did not pass any verification by any valid body. Now, the Community acknowledges that the manufacturer, although not the Community itself, and “to comply with the end of the standard”, “has requested two notified bodies to proceed to the evaluation of the masks in laboratory tests of the batch that has been come to Spain, in order to comply with the provisions of the current legal regulations of CE marking ”. They are “awaiting the results of both tests.” Since Thursday morning, in addition, pharmacies no longer distribute them to children under four, after receiving an order from the Ministry of Health.
These protections have been in place since President Díaz Ayuso published his purchase on Twitter (14 million masks for which they have paid 32 million euros), provoking reactions against it. They are not recommended by healthcare professionals or experts in personal protective equipment or consumer associations or even the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.
They were advertised as FFP2 and there is no certificate that accredits them as such, Public Health experts warned the regional government that they are not recommended for citizens but for healthcare professionals – those who have been lacking since the beginning of the pandemic – officially urges them to be used for two days when they serve only for a few hours. And, despite official guidelines from the beginning stating that they are not recommended for minors, they have been dispensed since Monday.
Societies of occupational doctors warn Ayuso that FFP2 masks “are not suitable for the general population”
–The same night of the start of the cast, Natalia Fernández, 27, went to pick up the masks that belonged to her family at the pharmacy. He carried all six health cards, including his one and a half year old son. “What is that of the small child?” Asked the young woman to the pharmacist Javier Lago, in his apothecary on the Avenida Institución Libre de Enseñanza, in the east of the capital.
Lago gave him six masks and they were all the same size, 10 x 15 centimeters, wrapped in a plastic Community flag. “They haven’t given us for children, I’m sorry,” said the pharmacist. If you wanted a baby size you would have to buy it for seven euros. Until this Tuesday, 1.58 million citizens of Madrid had already removed their masks from their pharmacy, according to data from the Official College of Pharmacists. Now, the Pharmacy Directorate will track the ones that could have been delivered so far.
A primary school pediatrician says that it is “once again the same, not taking into account the peculiarities of the child population.” Experts in this area do not consider the masks suitable for children under three years of age, they argue “risk of suffocation” and “poor efficiency because they move all the time.” Both infants and children under three years, explains this pediatrician, ” containment measures are recommended, take them in their car or seat or in the arms of parents or hand, avoiding touching utensils, furniture or railings … “. At centers, he adds, remove toys and books from waiting rooms.
What types of masks are there? Can I reuse them? Is there for children?
–The College of Pharmacists of Madrid has also emphasized that the FFP2 infant mask model is not frequent and is used in exceptional cases as pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatment, for example. “In short, common sense and keep in mind prevention and hygiene measures,” concludes the pediatrician.
Failures in marking and labeling
In addition to not being suitable for young children, the masks do not comply with up to 19 requirements of the European Union, 10 required by the European legislation on personal protective equipment and nine related to the technical standards that indicate compliance with the masks. The flaws in this marking and labeling were analyzed by Asepal, the Association of Personal Protective Equipment Companies, which sent the report of that review to the Ministry of Health and to which they have not yet received a response.
The manufacturing company, Wenzhou Haoshuo Home Textile, has included the CE mark, which indicates that the product complies with the European Union legislation that applies to the mask, but the certificate is false and the company has deleted its official Alibaba page, the the world’s largest Internet sales platform.
Another issue that poses a risk to public health and that has generated protests from restrooms is the time of use. According to the president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, they are “reusable” and are up to “48 hours in a row, so they can be used on different occasions over several days.” It is not true. Facua Madrid has warned that different international organizations advise limiting its use to a maximum of eight hours; even more so when it is still unknown if the masks comply with CE regulations.
The masks that the Community of Madrid distributed to the population do not comply with European regulations
–The first to criticize the fact that FFP2 masks were given to Madrid residents were the experts. The scientific societies that bring together Spanish specialists in Occupational Medicine —those who work in occupational risk prevention services, preventive specialists and experts in public health—, the heads of the Preventive Medicine and Public Health departments and those in Occupational Risk Prevention Madrid hospitals, the Madrid Nursing Association and the Madrid Public Health Association have already warned the Community of Madrid that these masks “are not suitable for the general population.”
They also insisted on the shortage that Sermas professionals have faced since the beginning of the crisis, which has lasted for two months, which leaves 14 people dead on the Sermas staff and more than 11,000 infections according to the Community, although several unions estimate that to that number would have to be added a few others. The count by hospitals of Comisiones Obreras puts the infected at more than 15,000. In the region there are 65,693 positive for coronavirus this Thursday, 2,076 patients are still hospitalized and 13,931 have died. In ICUs, the number continues to decline, this May 14 there are 396 serious injuries in these beds, and there have already been 40,199 discharges.
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