Politico | Coronavirus: Canada says 1 million K95 masks from China unfit for Covid-19 fight
- Public health authority says respirators failed to meet federal standards for use by front-line health professionals
- The KN95 is a Chinese model similar to the N95, a crucial type of personal protective equipment used to defend nurses, doctors and other health workers
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Andy Blatchford on politico.com on April 23, 2020.
Canada's public health authority says around one million KN95 respirators acquired from China have failed to meet federal Covid-19 standards for use by frontline health professionals.
As a result, the federal government did not dispense the non-complying masks to equipment-hungry provinces and territories, said Eric Morrissette a spokesperson for the Public Health Agency of Canada.
The failure of these respirators to meet Canadian requirements is yet another challenge for the country as it fights to secure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies amid what has become a ferocious global competition.
The KN95 is a Chinese model similar to the N95, which is a crucial type of personal protective equipment used to defend nurses, doctors and other health workers in the fight against Covid-19. In general, Canada has authorised the KN95 for use as part of the Covid-19 response, but individual shipments are being inspected.