The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers yesterday authorized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to spend 58,950 euros on the purchase of 131,000 masks to protect its personnel, both in Spain and abroad, from COVID-19.
In response to the declaration of emergency agreed last December 17 by the Contracting Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Executive authorized yesterday the procurement of the supply of 131,000 triple-layer surgical masks and six face shields for the staff of the Department headed by Arancha González Laya. The total estimated cost of this supply is 58,950 euros, excluding VAT, and the company awarded the contract is Centro Farmacéutico S.L.
The Ministry currently has a staff of approximately 5,800 employees, of which 1,200 are assigned to the central services and 4,600 abroad. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is proceeding to “the progressive incorporation of this staff in phases” according to the evolution of the pandemic, for which it has made an estimate, based on the SARS-COV-2 Prevention and Protection Plan prepared by the Ministry of Health, of the number of masks required to cover the needs of both central services and abroad.
