HELSINKI, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Tomi Lounema, CEO of the Finnish National Emergency Supply Agency (NESA), resigned on Friday after talks with Finnish Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen who told a press conference that the credibility of the agency had been inadmissibly undermined.
The agency had not checked the backgrounds of two Finnish entrepreneurs it had accepted as intermediaries for purchase of protective gear from China.
A large shipment of healthcare materials ordered from China arrived at the Helsinki Vantaa Airport on Tuesday afternoon. Lounema said on Twitter that the shipment includes 2 million surgical masks and 230,000 respirators.
At a press conference held on Wednesday, NESA said that the anti-epidemic supplies failed to meet Europe's quality standard for hospital use. The Finnish Ministry for Health and Social Affairs said that the masks could be used in care homes or at home to prevent staff or family members from passing on the coronavirus, however.
In response to the issue, Zhao Lijian, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, noted at a press conference on Thursday that the masks were purchased through commercial channels through intermediaries by the Finnish side, and were declared for export to the Chinese Customs in the name of non-surgical masks.
Haatainen told media earlier that she did not know about the transactions. She also announced on social media on Thursday that she had demanded an explanation from NESA over the deal.
Haatainen acknowledged on Friday that mistakes take place in work situations under pressure, but she determined that checks could have been run without overwhelming effort in this case.
Lounema's resignation took effect immediately. Janne Kankanen, director for EU and International Affairs at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, has been appointed as acting CEO for the agency. NESA will submit a full report on the events to Haatainen on Tuesday.
Kankanen said they will apply "the widest publicity possible", but some details may not be given to the public on business secrecy grounds. He also said contact has been established with "leading Finnish companies which have presence in China" to ensure further procurements.
Even though Finland had stockpiled protective gear for a crisis situation, the supplies need urgent replenishing as demand in the treatment of COVID-19 patients is high.
As of Friday afternoon, Finland had confirmed 2,769 infections of COVID-19 with 48 deaths and 81 cases being in intensive care, according to the Finnish National Institute for Health and Welfare.
