Surgical masks worth 100 years are stored in the warehouse. Photo: Depositphotos.com

According to a report on Tuesday by the People’s Daily, the Dutch government will have to destroy most of its 848 million mask inventory because it cannot distribute them during the pandemic.

A recent audit of PPE equipment found that the Netherlands has a sufficient supply of surgical masks to allow hospitals to stock FFP2 masks for more than a century and 50 years. This figure does not include equipment that is still awaiting quality control inspections.

However, these masks are valid for one to five years, and people question the storage conditions. Many surplus masks were acquired by the relief supplies coalition established by former Christian Democratic Party (CDA) party activist Sywert van Lienden. This transaction cost the Ministry of Health 100 million euros.

Purchasing agency LCH said in a report in December last year that it was not clear whether the sanitary condition of the warehouse was properly monitored. It said: "There is no description of procedures for shelf life, sterility, etc."

Fritz Roosendaal, an epidemiologist at Leiden UMC Hospital, stated in the People’s Daily last week that the government should distribute masks free of charge, but the Ministry of Health said it is subject to EU regulations that prevent countries from interfering in the market.

Distributing free FFP2 masks will make surgical masks unavailable in stores. A spokesperson said: "This gives us another thing to deal with."

Market analysts say that destroying some masks is a more cost-effective solution than storing them until they expire.

The ministry stated that it has managed to sell some masks in bulk, but did not provide specific figures.

The spokesperson said: "Every possible attempt is being made, not to destroy the masks, but to find a good place through sales and donations." "If it fails in the end, the masks will be treated sustainably."

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