Chemical and pharmaceutical companies provide medical staff with 200,000 face masks

During the first wave of the coronavirus, there was a very urgent demand for additional protective equipment, in particular face masks, for health professionals involved in the care of Covid-19 patients. That is why the essenscia sectoral federation launched an appeal to the 700 or so companies in the sector to make some of their stock of breathing and face masks available to Belgian hospitals and doctors. In a few weeks, more than 200,000 masks were donated.

Employees in chemical and pharmaceutical companies frequently use personal protective equipment, such as face masks, for their own health and safety during the production or laboratory research of certain chemical or pharmaceutical products. These respirators or industrial protective masks (type FFP, Filtering Facepiece) are also suitable for medical use.

Mindful of the safety rules of their staff, many chemical and pharmaceutical companies reacted positively to the appeal and donated part of their stock to Belgian hospitals and doctors. In total, 200,000 face masks, 25,000 gloves, more than 10,000 protective gowns and about 6,000 safety glasses were made available to medical staff.