Thousands of respiratory masks put into storage by Store Norske because they were “not quite” like those previously ordered that were subsequently donated to a Tromsø hospital three weeks ago – with the warning their quality was note certain – were mistakenly used by about 150-200 health care staff at the hospital working mostly in a newly established coronavirus intensive care unit, officials confirmed this week.
The masks were pirated copies made by a Chinese company and sold as manufactured by 3M, according to tests conducted by Norwegian Defense Research Institute. The employees are now being tested every other day and all were negative during the most recent test on Wednesday, according to the hospital, which also states it does not believe any patients were put in danger.