Italian authorities have seized a shipment of 1,840 manual respirators and other medical supplies intended for patients receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 in Greece.
The seizures were carried out by Italian police division, Guardia di Finanza (GdF), due to a prohibition for companies to sell medical devices overseas during the coronavirus crisis.
Initial inspections of the truck at the port of Ancona, found respiratory devices comprising of a mask, tube, and hand-operated balloon, which are used to help airflow into the lungs.
According to media reports, the masks and other medical supplies will now be distributed to hospitals across Italy where demand for new supplies remains high.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Italy rose to 74,386 on Wednesday, with Greece recording 821 cases and 22 deaths.
The seizure comes in the wake of the French government, under President Emmanuel Macron, also seizing trucks containing 130,000 FFP3 face masks that were headed to the UK earlier this month.
These developments imply a severe breakdown in the spirit of cooperation between nations as medical supplies run short globally amid enormous demand.
