Ministry of Health notice about face masks June 13, 2020

The Ministry of Health is concerned about the quality of some face masks it sourced during the COVID-19 response. The Ministry notice is set out below.

Please advise your DHB if you are holding any of this stock. You should not use these items until further notice from the Ministry.

Ministry of Health - Hold notice on some masks

The Ministry of Health has identified potential concerns around the quality of some masks distributed from the National Supply Chain. The concerns relate to inconsistencies in labelling and certification. These inconsistencies were discovered as the Ministry enhanced its routine due diligence of PPE coming into New Zealand due to increasing global concern over the authenticity of PPE items. The findings do not mean the items are non-compliant, but that further investigation to confirm the quality is needed.

As a precautionary measure we are asking you to identify if you have any of the below items and place these on hold pending further information. You should be able to identify these by checking the manufacturing label that is on the mask.

We will be working with urgency to complete the needed quality assurance checks and enable the compliance status of these items to be confirmed.

If you have any questions, please contact Covid.HealthSupplyChain@health.govt.nz