W. K. Lis
Superstar
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We're looking at whoever is or will be in charge of the Ministry of Heath in Ontario or whatever name they will call it.
The directives also transferred the responsibility — and costs — for securing and stockpiling masks to public and private employers. This contributed to the severe shortages that France has suffered in recent months, as government officials became less engaged on the issue.
Mr. Gautier, the former director of the general secretariat, said that the new directives had been intended to improve the distribution of masks by requiring employers, like hospitals, to stock them and to make them legally responsible for the protection of their employees.
But he acknowledged that “it would have been logical to transfer the credits and not only the costs to the employers. We should have also put in place measures of control to ensure that the reforms had been applied correctly.”
But the new policy also undermined France’s capacity to produce masks. Employers, now charged with procuring masks, naturally sought cheaper suppliers abroad.
And to save costs, the government placed large orders that only Chinese factories were able to satisfy, said Francis Delattre, a former senator whose 2015 report warned of the depletion of masks.
“Small French factories were losing orders,” Mr. Delattre said. “It was very dangerous to entrust only one or two Chinese conglomerates with the health protection of the country.”
And without its single government customer, the factory in Plaintel, which had once been running 24 hours a day, saw its business shrivel and eventually closed in 2018, Mr. Fuan said.
As expired masks were disposed of, France’s national stockpile shrank from 1.7 billion in 2009 to 150 million in March.
And as the “invisible enemy” began rampaging throughout France, the country that made some of the world’s most sophisticated military hardware in the world was unable to produce enough face masks.
“This crisis must lead us to consider health care as a strategic sector that should draw on a lot of what we do in defense,” said Arnaud Danjean, a European lawmaker.
“We weren’t armed for this,” he added.
We're looking at whoever is or will be in charge of the Ministry of Heath in Ontario or whatever name they will call it.