Distribution quotas exposed - Police given 640 thousand masks, and taking 40 times more N95 masks than Department of Health
BeWater(15 Feb) While there is only one-month’s stock of equipment for frontline medical staff, the HK government is still refusing to disclose how the supplies are being used. The Apple Daily received documents showing that the police ranks secondin number of surgical masks distributed, coming after the Department of Health. In the first round, they were provided with over 640 thousand surgical masks, and they were given the most N95 masks among all departments. Legislator and former doctor Kwok Ka-ki criticises the government for distributing the disease control supplies unfairly, with medical staff who actually contact patients lacking medical N95 masks and protective clothing, while the police is given large amounts of high standard supplies.“It is a complete waste of resources and public funds, and it’s exhausting the already scarce supply of protective clothing,” he says.
The Apple Daily found that in the government’s first round of distribution of disease control supplies, the Department of Health was given the most surgical masks, with the number exceeding 1.3 million. The Police Force came second,with almost 640 surgical masks. As for N95 masks, the police was given the largest number among all departments, with 13 thousand masks, while the department of health was given less than 300 of them. The document also shows the expected usage of the supplies for each department — the Police Force expects to use 26 thousand gowns and almost 40 thousand protective coverall suits from February to April, while the Department of Health expects to need 70 thousand gowns and around 2000 protective coverall suits.
Other disciplined servicesincluding the Immigration Department, the Customs and Excise Department and the Fire Services Department clearly did not receive such generous supplies. Departments crucial to the city’s hygiene such as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department only received half the surgical masks as the police. In recent police operations, officers put on full protective gear, which have already brought allegations that their protection standards were higher than that of medical staff.
Legislator Kwok Ka-ki comments that while it is understandable for the police to be distributed surgical masks, N95 masks and protective coverall suits, which are scarce protective supplies worldwide, should only be used for medical staff when dealing with infected patients. “How often do police officers have to deal with patients?” he questions. He points out that giving the police to almost 10 thousand gowns deprives those who are in need from the supplies, which is selfish.
Firemen received expired N95 masks
Ngan Mo Chau, chairperson for the Union for New Civil Servants, points out that the government has never disclosed the amount of protective supplies distributed to each department. “Nobody is clear whether they will have the gear they need when they have to carry out their duties, if something happens.” The Union has received civil servants from different departments, for example a staff member of the Housing Department found that they lacked protective gear when checking pipes, a firemen complained about receiving expired N95 masks, a staff member working at the Joint Offices for Investigation of Water Seepage Complaints was not given gear when going to risky locations for checking, a 50-person shift at the Customs was only given two boxes of masks.
He says that the police being given the second most surgical masks brings questions about the standards for distributing supplies. “Why do they deserve to rank second? Medical staff and firemen are further on in the frontlines.” He says that firemen and medical staff are on the frontlines having direct contact with patients, and that the Union has contacted the Civil Service Bureau to enquire about the standards for distributing gear.
Source: Apple Daily