There are far too few respirators in Germany. According to a manufacturer, the fault for this should also lie with the Ministry of Health. He makes serious allegations against Jens Spahn.
- Mouthguards have become scarce in the Corona * crisis.
- A manufacturer of the masks shares responsibility for health minister Jens Spahn *.
- He warned the minister in February.
Munich - There are things you never need, but if you need them, then absolutely. The best example: respiratory masks *. In the Corona crisis, these have become one of the most important accessories to protect yourself and others from the transmission of Covid-19 . But the masks are out of print. Politicians are also to blame for this, says a manufacturer. Or more specifically: Health Minister Jens Spahn .
Achim Theiler is the managing director of the Buchlo company "Franz Mensch", which manufactures hygiene clothing, face masks and respiratory masks . Theiler said to “Spiegel”: “We warned [the authorities] and nobody heard us. […] This is grossly negligent and unnecessarily exacerbates the crisis. "
Corona virus: Manufacturer warned that too many masks were exported to China
Already on February 5, when the virus was particularly widespread in China *, he wrote an email to the Minister of Health warning that there could be serious bottlenecks in the supply of protective masks for hospitals. His suggestion: check the stocks and reserve goods with the manufacturers . Germany, on the other hand, exported masks to China in bulk.
Theiler wrote Spahn according to "Spiegel": "I appeal to you, do not underestimate the problem of this virus ." He has decided not to supply new customers in order to secure the stocks in Germany.
According to Theiler, he received no feedback from Spahn . In a second email, he pointed out that there were already supply bottlenecks. Again, Spahn didn't answer.
Coronavirus: Ministry of Health defends itself against allegations
The ministry confirmed to the "mirror" that they had received the emails. However, these were forwarded to the Bundeswehr procurement office, which was responsible for this.
The explanation for this: “This is the usual procedure for offers that reach us in terms of personal protective equipment. Due to the prioritization of the tasks in the exceptional situation, we had to do without answering the numerous offers. The BMG (Federal Ministry of Health, Red.) Was already in discussion with manufacturers and the federal states in February to determine the supply situation. "
We can only hope that business and politics learn from this episode to work with more foresight in future crises.
cg
The corona crisis is also increasingly affecting Germany. On Wednesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel addressed the population in a television speech.
* merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
Rubric list image: © AFP / JOHN MACDOUGALL