Social Security manager suspended after investigation of face masks purchase

Luis Fernando Porras-Melendez suspended for four months due to the investigation that is being carried out on the purchase of disposable
masks that were delivered to health workers who are in the front lines in the fight against covid-19. - Asamblea Legislativa and A.M.
Costa Rica wire services illustrative photo -

Published Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Social Security manager suspended
after investigation of face
masks purchase

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Social Security announced on Tuesday, the suspension of the logistics manager, Luis Fernando Porras-Melendez for four months due to the investigation that is being carried out on the purchase of disposable masks that were delivered to health workers who are in the front lines in the fight against covid-19.

According to Social Security, in addition to Porras, two more employees related to the process of purchasing disposable masks were suspended.

"This suspension seeks to guarantee transparency in the investigation process that is carried out for buying disposable medical masks," Social Security said in its statement.

It is expected for Social Security to announce the temporary replacement for Porras today.

Last week, deputies of the Commission of Income and Public Expenses, of the Congress, approved a motion to open an investigation on the processes taken for the purchase and agreements carried out by Social Security, concerning the acquisition of masks and protective supplies for the healthcare workers of the institution.

According to the brief information provided by Congress, as part of the investigation, the following Social Security workers will be summoned to a hearing:

• Román Macaya-Hayes, President.

• Luis Fernando Porras, Logistics Manager.

• Hans Vindas-Cerdas, Legal Advisor.

• Olger Fernández-Carrillo, Internal Auditor.

• Soraya Solano-Acuña, Technical Commission.

• Nidia Medrano-Durán, Technical Commission.

• Esteban Corrales-Vega, Technical Commission.

Two more people will be called to the hearing, David Landergren-Castro, and Miren Martínez- Ruíz.

According to Congressman Roberto Thompson, one of the institutions most affected by the crisis is unquestionably Social Security. Important efforts have been made by the Legislative Assembly (Congress) to be able to provide additional financial resources in the face of the complicated situation that the entity is experiencing from a financial point of view and that it continues to face during this emergency to the pandemic.

"This motion is suitable to investigate and get to the bottom of what has been denounced in the press and that affects, not only the trust but how the institution's reserves should be managed," Thompson said.

Also, deputy Jonathan Prendas said that there is a complaint about how doctors are being unprotected as a result of a very bad purchase. Investigators must look into the requirements needed to safely protect people on the front lines of this emergency.

In July, Social Security recalls disposable masks bought during the pandemic, where the organization began a process of recovering disposable surgical masks that were handed over to the health workers.

According to the authorities, the masks that must be returned were purchased in the lot 20200428-001, which must be changed by the supplier in the event of a possible labeling error in its packaging.

The request for the return of the masks was made to all the health units in the country that have supplies from that lot. A material error was identified in the inspection of the packaging box labeling, said the now suspended Logistics Manager of Social Security.

According to Porras, "the purchase was correct, the product met the safety and protection requirement."

This purchase was made on an emergency basis. However, Social Security does not provide the name of the company that sold the masks.

The people in charge of reviewing the products and managing the purchases are nursing professionals from different medical centers with extensive experience, who carried out the review focused on the quality of the samples, Social Security said.

Specialists verified the international certifications before the purchase. This consisted of testing permeability, functionality, seal and then verifying the three layers of filtration.

The material error, which does not change the quality of the product, occurs when inspecting the labeling of the box where it indicated, “no medical.”

In other words, it is presumed that the label for the masks was incorrect or the items are not for use by workers in the medical field.

According to the authorities, the masks were received at the Social Security warehouses on June 30 and immediately distributed to health workers. Social Security was responding to the need to supply medical centers with this essential equipment.

According to Porras, the administrative steps have already been taken with the supplier company to get the correct masks.

Social Security has purchased and distributed among health workers more than 30 million units of personal protective equipment in the last 6 months as part of the emergency plan during the covid-19 pandemic facing the country, Porras said.

Social Security did not disclose yet how many masks must be returned to the provider company.

Meanwhile, healthcare workers continue attending increasing amounts of patients infected with the virus.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Health provided the following statistics on the status of the virus in the country:

• 599 new covid-19 cases, bringing the total to 19,867 active cases. Which is a 67% active patients rate.The ages of patients infected range from a three-month-old baby to a 99-year-old person.

• 7,476 foreign-born people have been infected of the 29,643 cases since March, approximately 25% of the total cases.

• 413 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 110 patients are in Intensive Care Units with delicate health conditions, 303 patients are in recovery rooms. Most of the infected patients are quarantined in their homes.

• 9,462 coronavirus patients have fully recovered, which is a 31,9% recovery rate.

• 79,750 people have been ruled out.

• 123,223 medical covid-19 tests have been made.

• 314 deaths of patients infected with covid-19 since March. Which is a 1% death rate. Of these 117 were women and 197 men. The ages range from 21 to a 100-year-old person.

On July 30, authorities reported 30 foreign-born people had died from covid-19 since March, at the time it was 22% of virus-related deaths. However, the ministry confirmed that they will not continue providing information on the number of foreign-born people who die from covid-19 in the country.

An important notice is the vice Minister of Health Pedro González-Morera will temporarily assume the Minister role until Aug. 23, due to Minister Daniel Salas attending personal matters. Salas requested for vacation days in order to tend to his father's health.

Readers can see the updated number of total patients in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.

As of Tuesday night, the pandemic has killed 779,533 patients worldwide, according to recent statistics reported by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

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Should the Prosecutor Office also open an investigation on the buying process for the disposable face mask? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com