Advertisements for medical masks that should prevent contamination by corona are temporarily banned from Facebook, the platform said in a statement last weekend. The policy will also be implemented on subsidiary Instagram.
Not only does the tech giant’s algorithm ban ads related to the COVID-19 virus, it also blocks groups and pages about the virus. With the temporary ban, which will be phased in from March 6, Facebook wants to ban fake news and the spread of misinformation to prevent people from using the threat of the virus to exploit people.
Since the outbreak of the virus, the run on face masks has been causing problems. They are offered online for sometimes more than 100 euros and they are very difficult to obtain for healthcare providers. Dentists in particular are at risk of getting into trouble: they are obliged to wear a new mouth cap with every patient.
The Ministry of Health (VWS) is investigating whether the solution to liver problems can be found in central purchasing for Europe, so that the resources can be distributed equally among all countries. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport indicates that there have been no major shortages so far and that it is discussing with umbrella organizations how best to tackle the shortage. For now, the advice to healthcare providers is to turn to colleagues when they get into trouble.
