TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Made-in-Taiwan masks which were recently donated to Finland have been found to have a filtration rate of 99.7 percent, far higher than the substandard products China had sold to the country.
In late May, Taiwan donated 200,000 surgical masks to Finland as it battled the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. After undergoing testing by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the masks were confirmed to meet the highest quality standards and their filtration rate achieved 99.7 percent, reported CNA. The masks have already been provided to the northern hospital districts of Finland, particularly the districts of Länsi-Pohja and Kainuu.
During the pandemic, VTT, which is the equivalent to Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute, has been tasked with inspecting the quality of imported face masks. According to Finish government regulations, masks must be certified as meeting set standards before they can be provided to medical personnel.
Taiwan's representative in Finland, Janet Chang (張秀禎), pointed out that the inspection results showed that the products made in Taiwan are of excellent quality and trustworthy. She was glad to see that the medical supplies donated by the government play an important role in helping other countries in their fight against the pandemic.
The high rating for the Taiwan-made masks is in stark contrast to the two million surgical masks China sold to Finland, which were found on April 8 to be substandard and hazardous for hospital use. Two days later, the Managing Director of Finland's National Emergency Supply Agency, Tomi Lounema, resigned after he admitted to spending €10 million (US$11 million) on masks which were not up to medical standards.
