HomeNewsMinistries of Industry and Health target production of 32 million face masks

Ministries of Industry and Health target production of 32 million face masks

The Ministries of Industry and Health target the production of 32 million face masks, considering that the infection risks will last for months at least, said Minister of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Salah Ben Youssef at a press conference held Friday in Tunis.

Ben Youssef refuted the rumour on suspicions of corruption in the mask production process; nearly 100 SMEs have filed applications to take in the manufacturing process, he said.

The industry department will examine more than 500 applications from other Tunisian companies, to manufacture masks which price does not exceed 1.950 TND, intended for general consumption.

The minister said the production capacity will be 7.5 million masks every two weeks, adding that four factories and several small units will participate and that the product will be sold by the central pharmacy and pharmacies.

Nearly 2 million masks out of 32 million have been made available to public health officials, including doctors and paramedics, at the request of the Ministries of Health and Trade.

Regarding the “controversy” that marred the process of preparing this large quantity of masks and the existence of a “suspicion of corruption,” as described by the National Anti-Corruption Authority (INLUCC), the minister said the case “raises concerns”, explaining that he had contacted the president of INLUCC in person and denied the existence of corruption.

The Minister said he agreed with the recourse to justice in the event of evidence confirming this suspicion.

He explained that he did not know that the owner of a company concerned by mask production an MP and that he introduced himself only as a business manager.

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