Romania sends 90,000 protection masks to Spain

The Romanian Air Force on Sunday sent a C-27 J Spartan aircraft to Madrid with 90,000 FFP2 protection masks for Spain.

The masks were handed over to the Spanish authorities with duties in the management of emergency situations, according to a press release from the National Defence Ministry of Romania.

They are part of the medical supplies purchased by Romania for an anti-epidemic stockpile established by the European Union (EU) in the country, added the release.

The air transport mission, which was supposed to take place on Saturday, was rescheduled for Sunday due to a technical problem of the plane.

This was the second time the Romanian Air Force had carried out the mission of delivering medical supplies against the novel coronavirus to other EU countries. On April 25, the Romanian Air Force sent a C-27 J Spartan aircraft with 90,000 FFP2 protection masks to Milan, northern Italy.

The European Commission announced on March 19 to create a common strategic stockpile of medical equipment. Romania is the first member that volunteered to purchase and host the reserves which include ventilators and masks, before they are sent to members that need them most.

According to the Commission, it will basically bear the relevant costs, while the hosting state is responsible for the procurement.

Romania has so far received a grant of 10 million euros from the EU, under an agreement signed with the Commission.

Since late March, Romania has sent more than a dozen planes to transport medical supplies from China, South Korea and Turkey.