The foreign ministry has rejected as “fake news” reports cited by the opposition Democratic Coalition that the ministry purchased several million Chinese face masks of the type that the EU put on its alert list of sub-standard products.
In a statement on Thursday, the ministry referred to the global race for masks produced by China during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, noting that one supplier of 9 million masks out of 150 million purchased altogether referred to a company as a possible source of an unsuitable product, but no agreement was concluded with that particular producer.
The ministry said that the guiding principle in any purchase of masks, ventilators or vaccines was to protect the health of the Hungarian people.
featured image illustration via Attila Balázs/MTI
