Date Published: 06/05/2020
ARCHIVED - Batch of potentially defective face masks withdrawn from Murcia Health Service
ARCHIVED ARTICLE Meanwhile 77,000 new rapid test kits have arrived in the region
Image:CESM
The Murcian Health Service has withdrawn another batch of FFP2 masks (use a filtering valve system) which are believed to be sub-standard and possibly defective.
These will now be sent for testing to the UIA, the Unidad de Aprovisionamiento Integral, the central purchasing unit of the health service, to check for defects as well as to verify the integrity of the supplier.
The regional health service, the SMS, has stated that "all purchases made from the Integrated Supply Unit (UAI) have all the certifications and validations required."
At the moment no details have been published regarding the number of masks in the batch or where they have been distributed.
The Cesm Medical Union in the Region of Murcia has denounced "the insecurity with which professionals in contact with Covid-19 patients have to work" and has demanded maximum control and verification of the materials provided to professionals, "who cannot work with uncertainty without knowing that protective equipment has been properly verified. "
The Medical Union has also requested that the regional health authorities qualify in which of the medical facilities the masks have been distributed and carries out PCR tests on all those who have used them should the lot be found to be defective.
During April another batch of defective masks delivered to the Region of Murcia via the Ministry of Health were recalled. These had been distributed to several hospitals in the Region, including the Santa Lucía in Cartagena and Reina Sofía in Murcia.
77,000 tester kits sent from the Ministry of Health
During the last few days the national Health Ministry has distributed 1.4 million rapid tester kits throughout Spain, 77,200 of which have been delivered to the Murcia Region.
This is part of a 5 million unit lot purchased by the ministry and allows the regions to test for Covid-19 antibodies in the blood.
The use of these rapid tests is helping the authorities to work through the backlog of “suspected cases” and identify the number of patients who have been Covid positive, although in most cases, symptoms were mild and the patients have made a full recovery before being tested.
This is increasing the number of known cases rapidly, although most of the “new cases” diagnosed are immediately listed as “recoveries” as occurred yesterday in Murcia; of the 82 “new” coronavirus cases, only 2 were classified as “new active cases” while the remaining 80 were diagnosed with positive antibodies in the blood and automatically joined the list of “recovered cases”.
Remember: LOCKDOWN MEANS LOCKDOWN. STAY AT HOME. STAY SAFE AND DO YOUR BIT TO REDUCE THE SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS.
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