THE HAGUE 29 Mar (ANA) - Officials in the Netherlands have recalled hundreds of thousands of protective masks, which were imported from China and distributed to hospitals, because they don't meet quality standards.

The Dutch Health Ministry told AFP news agency that 1.3 million masks were delivered on 21 March. About 600,000 of the masks had already been distributed to healthcare workers.

"The rest of the shipment was immediately put on hold and has not been distributed," the ministry said in a statement.

The problem was either that the masks didn't close over the face properly, or were fitted with defective filters.(ANA)

FA/ANA/29 March 2020-----