Half the masks on the market in Romania don’t meet safety standards and won’t protect people from Covid-19, the economy minister said Wednesday.
Virgil Popescu said he was “disappointed with protection masks that are currently on the market.”
“Half which are on sale, in hypermarkets, pharmacies, wholesalers, importers don’t respect (standards), even though you will say I am exaggerating, they don’t protect us, and that’s the reality.”
Masks have been mandatory in some public places since May and are now compulsory in all public places indoors and outside, regardless of the number of infections in any one place.
“All the unfit masks are imported. I want to tell Romanians we have 16 companies that manufacture masks in Romania which can cover all domestic needs.
“I want to be very clear, this has to stop,” the minister was quoted as saying by national news agency Agerpres. “ We can’t accept masks going on sale which don’t protect the public.”
“I recommend (people) to look for Romanian products which are guaranteed, checked and are the best on the market.”
The National Consumer Protection Agency recently fined retailers 18 million lei for selling sub-standard masks or masks that falsely claimed to meet EU standards..
He said he would issue an order that obliges retailers to say if masks “don’t ensure protection against Covid,” so people know what they are buying.
