Chinese PPE Kits Failed India’s Safety Tests; Deemed to be Unusable

India has ramped up the domestic production of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) since the demand has increased extensively due to the Coronavirus outbreak. 

China, being one of the world’s main suppliers of PPE kits, donated a significant number of kits to India. However, many of the Chinese kits have failed in the quality tests. 

Only CE/ FDA approved kits are being procured and used in India. If the kits are not CE/FDA certified, they undergo safety checks. 

As per an Economic Times report, the Chinese kits that arrived to India on April 5 were tested at the Defence Research & Development Organization laboratory in Gwalior. A source who is aware of the matter informed that out of the 170,000 PPE kits that arrived, almost 50,000 kits have failed the quality tests and are hence unusable. 

“Two small consignments with 30,000 and 10,000 PPE kits, too, failed tests,” the source added.   

Meanwhile, a PTI report states that China has urged all countries to import these items through reputed Chinese firms that are cleared by the government.