Cyprus Mail 7 May 2020 - by Gina Agapiou
A seller at the Nicosia market on Wednesday. Anyone dealing with the public must now wear a face mask, leading to even more shortages
The shortage of masks on the market might not be fully resolved until the end of June, a representative of medical supply importers said on Wednesday.
“There has never been complete adequacy [of supply],” the head of Cyprus’ association of importers of medical and scientific instruments Angelos Sarpetsas told the Cyprus Mail.
According to Sarpetsas, the shortage went on throughout the worst of the pandemic despite importers’ attempts to order from reliable suppliers abroad.
“Some 50,000 to 100,000 masks are expected via plane by the end of this week and the next,” he said.
The health ministry has ordered in total nine million masks. Two million arrived on Saturday. Those masks will be shared among state health professionals, civil servants and probably schools and universities once they open.
“We are expecting the government to let us know if they will share some of these quantities with the general public,” said Sarpetsas.
The government has decreed that anyone working in the private or public sector dealing with the public must wear a mask from when the lockdown was partially lifted on Monday. It is also recommended, but not mandated, that the public wear them when they go to supermarkets. Municipal markets have made it mandatory for entrance.
No announcement has been made by health authorities yet as to whether any of the shipments due will be given to fill the gaps in the retail sector to cover the shortage there.
“Our members are expecting a shipment of surgical masks by the end of June,” Sarpetsas said, adding that he was hopeful the shortage would be resolved by then.
He said despite orders put out to companies in European countries, they were sending negligible quantities and it was taking about a month.
The alternative solution was to look to China. “We started new deals with not-well-known Chinese companies,” Sarpetsas said, adding that inevitably there were times the wrong product or items of low quality was received.
Also, the masks are having to be brought in by air, which is more expensive than shipping.
The nine million masks that the ministry has ordered belong to the 2R category of professional masks. The simplest surgical mask from category one (1R) offers up to 95 per cent protection, while the highest (3R) and offers up to 99 per cent protection. The 2R mask offers around a 98 per cent protection level but has a moderate fluid resistance compared to the 3R’s high fluid resistance.
According to Sarpetsas, one 3R mask used to be around 70 cents but now costs €7 each.
“Not all protective masks are suitable for Covid-19 protection,” he said, adding it was the responsibility of the consumers association and the health ministry to check on the quality of all the masks imported in the island.
He also advised the public to avoid being in crowded public places without a face covering.
Citing the World Health organisation and arguing there are many asymptomatic patients, he said it was a good idea for everyone to wear masks to limit transmission to a 1.5 to 2 per cent chance of being infected.
Advice on the wearing of masks has been contradictory since the Covid-19 outbreak both from the World Health Organisation and varies from country to country.
