German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended Minister of Health Jens Spahn, who has been called upon to resign after reports of his intent to sell masks to unprotected citizens that allegedly did not meet quality standards.
This was reported by Spiegel, citing its sources among the participants of the meeting of the Presidium of the Christian Democratic Union.
According to them, Angela Merkel began to defend Spahn, noting that the accusations against him were not supported by facts.
Other fellow party members, such as North Rhine-Westphalia Labor Minister Karl-Josef Laumann, also spoke in his defense.
Jens Spahn rejected claims that the masks in question did not meet the proper quality standards. Before that, he also criticized the rebukes against him from the SPD, the coalition partner of the CDU, whose co-chairs have hinted that he should resign.
The Ministry of Labor, which is headed by an SPD representative, believes that the masks made in China N95 do not meet the necessary quality standards. Spahn denies this and says that although the masks have not been certified by the EU, they meet the necessary criteria.
The Ministry of Health confirmed that the masks did not pass the temperature test, as recommended by the European Commission, and which was highlighted by journalists of Spiegel. At the same time, the department explains that it is important when masks are used in production under specific conditions, but not for protection against infection, as in everyday life such temperature regimes are not possible.
According to Spiegel, the masks also failed a test simulation of use. The Ministry of Health explained that, in their opinion, this procedure was not necessary in order to test the protective function of the mask.
Recall that a couple of months ago, several CDU MPs found themselves in the midst of a scandal over accusations of lobbying for contracts to buy medical masks and left the party.
The scandals could hit the CDU-CSU ratings in the upcoming federal elections in September 2021, in which, for the first time in years, Angela Merkel will not be their candidate for chancellor.
