Mask Napping On The Tarmac Of Shanghai

A consignment of masks heading from China to one of the worst hit coronavirus areas of France was hijacked by American buyers as it was about to be dispatched, it was reported on Thursday, writes Kim Willsher.

The masks were on a plane on the tarmac at Shanghai Airport ready to take off when US buyers turned up reportedly waving wads of cash and offered three times what the French were paying.

The plane later left for an unreported destination in the States.

Jean Rottner, an emergency hospital doctor at Mulhouse in eastern France, and president of the GrandEst regional council, confirmed reports that part of an order of masks heading for the region, where intensive care units are inundated with coronavirus patients, had been snatched by America.

“On the tarmac, they arrive, get the cash out and pay three or four times more for the orders than we have, so we really have to fight,” Rottner told RTL radio.

Rottner admitted they had still managed to receive 2m masks earlier this week. “It’s complicated. We’re having to work round the clock to make sure these masks get here,” he said.

As well as orders from the French government, several French regions have ordered a total of 1bn masks, one quarter of them from China.

Rénaud Muselier, head of the south-eastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, said he had also experienced problems securing masks. Muselier said he had opted for them to be transported by sea, which he said was slower but more certain. “At least that way, I can be sure nobody will steal my masks from the tarmac,” he told BFMTV.