Countries face 'fights' over facemasks in China: German health minister
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Saturday
July 02, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
SATURDAY, JULY 02, 2022
Countries face 'fights' over facemasks in China: German health minister

Coronavirus chronicle

Reuters
03 April, 2020, 06:45 pm
Last modified: 03 April, 2020, 06:47 pm

Related News

  • US Justice Department appeals transportation mask ruling
  • Uber, Lyft and Disney end mask mandates as Covid cases fall
  • Biden administration will appeal lifting of mask mandate, if CDC agrees
  • US will no longer enforce mask mandate on airplanes, trains after court ruling
  • Philips launches ‘Fresh Air Mask’ with non-valve filter

Countries face 'fights' over facemasks in China: German health minister

Germany’s mix of lockdown measures and aggressive testing for the novel coronavirus has so far been successful in slowing the spread of the disease

Reuters
03 April, 2020, 06:45 pm
Last modified: 03 April, 2020, 06:47 pm
Representational Image. Photo: REUTERS
Representational Image. Photo: REUTERS

Countries' procurement agents are fighting each other in China for access to the protective equipment that must play a key role in stemming the spread of the novel coronavirus, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said.

He was responding to a spate of reports of consignments of protective masks destined for European countries being bought up by United States officials, sometimes even as aeroplanes stood ready for departure on the tarmac.

"You hear stories of people fighting in the truest sense of the word over these masks in China," he told reporters on Friday during a visit to a logistics company that is acting for the German government. "That's not a good development, but it reflects the strong demand."

Germany's mix of lockdown measures and aggressive testing for the novel coronavirus has so far been successful in slowing the spread of the disease, with each patient only infecting one other on average in recent days.

But that development, while encouraging, has focused more attention on the supplies of protective equipment that will become necessary if the disruptive curfews in force are ever to be lifted.

"This crisis is not a sprint but a long-distance run," Spahn said, warning the public not to expect a sudden or complete relaxation of lockdown and quarantine rules.

He said Europe was in a strong position to manufacture much of the protective equipment it needed, even in the face of international competition for the output of the largest suppliers in China.

"We make masks only on a small scale here in Germany, but we build the machines that are used to make the masks," he said.

"And much of the animal fleeces that are used to make the masks are produced in Europe and Germany. So if the machines and the fleeces are from Germany and Europe, we should be able to have production in Europe again."

Facemask

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • In rain, heat, filth – they fight against cancer
    In rain, heat, filth – they fight against cancer
  • Tejgaon Industrial Area has become an illegal parking lot for all kinds of vehicles, from buses to trucks to rickshaws. Photo: Mumit M
    Rickshaw garages and truck stands: How Tejgaon Industrial Area turned into a mess
  • TBS Illustration
    Universities may launch online classes again after Eid

MOST VIEWED

  • Former North Korean defectors living in South Korea, release balloons containing one dollar banknotes, radios, CDs and leaflets denouncing the North Korean regime, towards the north near the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas in Paju, north of Seoul January 15, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo
    North Korea blames 'alien things' near border with South for Covid outbreak
  • People wearing protective face masks commute amid concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pyongyang, North Korea March 30, 2020, in this photo released by Kyodo. Picture taken March 30, 2020. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS
    S Korea says leaflets sent by defectors unlikely to be cause of Covid in N Korea
  • Test tubes are seen in front of displayed Pfizer and Biontech logos in this illustration taken, May 21, 2021. Reuters: llustration
    BioNTech, Pfizer to start testing universal vaccine for coronaviruses
  • A woman holds a small bottle labelled with a "Coronavirus COVID-19 Vaccine" sticker and a medical syringe in this illustration taken October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
    S Korea approves first domestically developed Covid vaccine
  • Photo: Collected
    US medical experts call for Omicron-specific Covid boosters
  • David E Adler. Sketch: TBS
    Who managed Covid-19 best, and why?

Related News

  • US Justice Department appeals transportation mask ruling
  • Uber, Lyft and Disney end mask mandates as Covid cases fall
  • Biden administration will appeal lifting of mask mandate, if CDC agrees
  • US will no longer enforce mask mandate on airplanes, trains after court ruling
  • Philips launches ‘Fresh Air Mask’ with non-valve filter

Features

The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

The eye-catching commuter: Suzuki Gixxer SF 155

45m | Wheels
Photo: Collected

Sapiens – A Graphic History 

22h | Book Review
Black-naped Monarch male  Photo: Enam Ul Haque

Black-naped Monarch: A sovereign who never abandoned the Indian subcontinent

23h | Panorama
The 136-year-old company on its last legs

The 136-year-old company on its last legs

1d | Features

More Videos from TBS

Dhaka University celebrating 102nd founding anniversary today

Dhaka University celebrating 102nd founding anniversary today

22h | Videos
Ctg Int'l Trade Fair returns after a 2-year hiatus without Covid restrictions

Ctg Int'l Trade Fair returns after a 2-year hiatus without Covid restrictions

22h | Videos
Bangladeshis among top 6 nationalities seeking asylum in Europe

Bangladeshis among top 6 nationalities seeking asylum in Europe

23h | Videos
RUET organises Robotronics 2.0

RUET organises Robotronics 2.0

23h | Videos

Most Read

1
Padma Bridge from satellite. Photo: Screengrab
Bangladesh

Padma Bridge from satellite 

2
Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'
Splash

Meet the man behind 'Azke amar mon balo nei'

3
Photo: TBS
Bangladesh

Motorcycles banned on Padma Bridge 

4
Photo: Collected
Economy

Tech startup ShopUp bags $65m in Series B4 funding

5
World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years
Economy

World Bank to give Bangladesh $18b IDA loans in next five years

6
Investor Hiru fined Tk2cr for market manipulation
Stocks

Investor Hiru fined Tk2cr for market manipulation

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab
BENEATH THE SURFACE
The Dazzling Fake Flowers: Is there any alternative to artificial flowers while decorating homes, showrooms, offices and business establishments? Fresh flowers are undoubtedly beautiful, but they dry out quickly. Hence, the demand for plastic flowers is rising day by day. Traders said these lifelike silk flowers usually come from China and Thailand. The photo was taken from the 29th International Trade Fair of the Chattogram Chamber on Friday. PHOTO: Mohammad Minhaj Uddin

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net