The opposition’s Democratic Party (PD) has accused the government of distributing expired face masks to medical staff, thus endangering their health.
On February 28, Minister of Health Ogerta Manastirliu announced that the government had distributed 1,200,000 surgical masks throughout the country’s hospitals.
Opposition claimed that masks were expired and posed risks to users. They spoke of several cases of doctors and nurses suffering skin irritation from their use. The e expiration date was claimed to be December 2011.
Opposition leader Lulzim Basha called for the investigation of the case. He stated that this shows that the government is not only ill-prepared for the coronavirus, but also acting irresponsibly. Basha claimed that public hospitals are not properly equipped to handle the spread of infection and demanded the government supply doctors with the necessary equipment and increase the number of available beds in hospitals.
Later in the day at a government meeting, Rama accused the opposition of spreading panic. He did not specifically deny the claims about the expired masks but put one on in front of the cameras to show that they are not harmful. He called for unity and calm instead of panic.
Rama then took to Twitter to attack Basha: “There is only one [kind of] harmful mask in Albania; the masks of those who when the country struggles with life, under earthquake debris or with a threatening virus, do not stop seeking power with slander, hassle, and clutter.”
Basha replied that Rama had admitted that his government has distributed expired masks to doctors. He called on Rama to stop attacking the opposition but instead face the coronavirus situation with utmost seriousness and responsibility.
