On 13 April, the National Institute for Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare (INSS) reported that the Garry Galaxy Respirator Mask N95 masks did not comply with European standards. It is known that these masks do not have the ability to filter. In the hospitals of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, several workers have worked with these masks. According to the Basque Government, some 13,000 people distributed Respirator Mask N95 masks among the staff of Osakidetza.

The Basque Government Health Advisor, Nekane Murga, explained that after learning of the lack of filtration capacity of the masks, they have been removed from hospitals.

The incident has been denounced by various Ertzaintza trade unions. They stress that since the onset of the coronavirus, health workers have been working in defenceless conditions. “We’ve gone from having trash bags as Personal Protective Equipment to using masks that don’t protect,” the ESK union said. He adds that protective equipment has been distributed according to the category of personnel: “As the protective equipment has been completed, the protocols have been adjusted, differentiating by professional categories and leaving the jealousy with less secure equipment.”

High risk of contagion

Amaia Mayor, spokesperson for the nursing union SATSE, assured in Euskadi Irratia that the Respirator Mask N95 masks have been used in the hospitals of Álava and Bizkaia. According to Mayor, these masks have also been used by workers in intensive care units, in which the risk of infection is very high.

Nekane Murga explained that “efforts are being made to identify, follow and take measures to minimize the risks of the health personnel who have used these masks.”

The ESK union believes that a PCR test should be performed on individuals who have been with these masks.