Local mask production covers healthcare needs: minister

Domestic production of both surgical masks and higher quality protective masks is now sufficient for the needs of Finnish healthcare services, Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä said on Wednesday, reported news agency Xinhua.

Talking at a government press conference, Lintilä said domestic capacity would be sufficient, if a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic hits Finland. "But it would still not meet the needs if a general recommendation for using masks would be given in Finland," he added, noting that mass usage would have to be based on market solutions.

Finland has not made mask-wearing mandatory in everyday life. National carrier Finnair demands that all customers must use masks, while railroads and bus companies say they will wait for government recommendations.

Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen said on Wednesday that the long-term sufficiency of domestic procurements must be secured. Not elaborating on how, she underlined the importance of a recent order from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Based on information from the press conference, three domestic companies are now starting production, while another three will do so later this year.

Vesa Mäkipää, CEO of Lifa Air, one of the new domestic producers, said at the press conference that this spring he was initially opposed to investing in production in Finland, recalling how fast the need declined after the SARS epidemic and feared the same situation would happen now. However, he has changed his mind.

Mäkipää said the company had earlier experiences from production in Hong Kong, China during SARS, and established a joint venture in Guangdong, China in 2015.

Janne Känkänen, acting CEO of the Huoltovarmuuskeskus-HVK (the Finnish National Emergency Supply Agency), said HVK is the "anchor purchaser" of domestic production as it is buying a third of the domestic output. Hospital districts and other health care operators are making their purchases independently.

According to Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), as of Wednesday afternoon, Finland has confirmed a total of 6,692 COVID-19 cases, of which 64 were new cases. COVID-19 death toll has reached 313, one more than on the previous day. According to a preliminary estimate, at least 5,100 people have recovered from the disease.