(Fighting new crown pneumonia) Germany detains 240,000 masks from Swiss companies
China News Agency, Berlin, March 8th (Reporter Peng Dawei) According to Swiss media reports, 240,000 masks transported by truck by a Swiss company were detained by German customs at the Swiss-German border. Officials in Switzerland have said they have summoned the German ambassador to Switzerland and have protested against the export ban on masks imposed by Germany.
Due to the rapid development of the domestic epidemic, the German Federal Government announced a new decree on the 4th of this month, prohibiting the export of medical protective equipment (masks, gloves, protective clothing, etc.) to foreign countries, with exceptions allowed only in individual cases such as international aid operations .
According to the Swiss "Zurich Sunday" published on the 8th, the truck owned by the Swiss company was loaded with 240,000 masks and was intercepted by German customs before entering Switzerland. The Swiss Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Swiss foreign economic and trade affairs authority, informed the newspaper that it was in contact with the affected Swiss companies. The Swiss Federal Economic Administration also revealed that the above-mentioned 240,000 masks were "not a case". A spokesman for the department, Mein Fisch, said it had information on German trucks detained by several transport masks.
The Swiss Federal Economic Administration also confirmed to the Sunday Zurich that the Swiss side had summoned the German ambassador to Switzerland and protested against the German export ban on masks.
The number of infected people has risen rapidly since the first confirmed case was announced in Switzerland on February 25. According to information released by the Swiss Federal Health Service on the 8th, a total of 332 nucleic acid tests were positive in Switzerland and Liechtenstein, and two people in Switzerland have died of new coronary pneumonia. The Swiss media pointed out that Germany's measures to restrict the export of masks have seriously affected Switzerland, because the latter produces almost no medical consumables. These products are produced in countries mainly based in China, and then re-sold by Swiss companies to Switzerland The company is transported by Swiss companies from Germany to Switzerland. Now, because Germany's export ban applies to EU countries and non-EU countries (Switzerland has not joined the EU), Switzerland's supply chain has been cut off. (Finish)