OTTAWA — Canada's most populous province on Monday complained the United States had blocked the export of more than three million face masks it bought to fight the coronavirus outbreak, while Ottawa said it was pressuring Washington to release the gear. Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters his province had ordered almost 4 million medical masks from manufacturer 3M Co but they had not been allowed to leave the company's plant in South Dakota. Speaking earlier to Global News, he called the incident "absolutely unacceptable." Ford, a populist conservative, told reporters that after the Ontario and Canadian governments complained, he had been assured 500,000 of the masks would soon be released. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order last week to stop personal protective equipment from being exported, and Ford said it was "absolutely critical" Canada be exempted.

Source: International New York Times April 06, 2020 17:11 UTC