China confiscates over 89 million poor quality face masks
Deccan ChronicleBeijing: China has confiscated over 89 million poor quality face masks, a government official said Sunday, as Beijing faces a slew of complaints about faulty protective gear exported worldwide. As of Friday, China's market regulators had inspected nearly 16 million businesses and seized over 89 million masks and 418,000 pieces of protective gear, said Gan Lin, deputy director of the State Administration of Market Regulation, at a press conference. In a bid to eliminate poor-quality products, China released new rules Saturday saying even non-medical masks must meet both national and international quality standards. The Canadian government last week said that about one million face masks purchased from China failed to meet proper standards for healthcare professionals.