For the countries suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, “Made in China” should be considered a warning if not an outright threat.

The government of Austria, which has 12,547 total confirmed coronavirus cases and 243 deaths, reported that 500,000 Chinese-produced protective masks destined for South Tyrol are “unusable,” according to Die Presse.

This is merely the latest in a long string of countries that say they have received defective Chinese-manufactured medical gear.

Officials for the Czech Republic, which has 4,828 total confirmed cases and 80 deaths, reported that 300,000 Chinese-made quick tests purchased by the Czech government worked only if the person being tested had been infected by the coronavirus for a minimum of five days. Czech health officials also said that approximately 100,000 of the kits were defective.

Slovak Prime Minister Igor Matovic, whose country has 581 total confirmed cases and two deaths, said that the more than 1 million tests that his predecessor bought from Chinese-connected distributors are also defective.

“We have a ton and no use for them,” he said of the $16 million worth of reportedly worthless kits. He added that they should “just be thrown straight into the Danube.”

Spain, which has 140,511 total confirmed cases and 13,897 deaths, recalled approximately 60,000 of the 340,000 Chinese-produced tests it purchased. Spanish health authorities determined the kits had an accurate detection rate of only 30%.

Likewise, Turkey, which has 34,109 total confirmed cases and 725 deaths, said the Chinese-made kits it purchased had an accuracy rate of just 35%. The tests were suspended immediately until a more reliable batch arrived (also from a Chinese supplier).

Officials in the Netherlands, which has 19,703 total confirmed cases and 2,108 deaths, recalled 600,000 of the 1.3 million Chinese-manufactured face masks purchased by the Dutch government. The Dutch health ministry said the masks had defective filters.

"The rest of the shipment was immediately put on hold and has not been distributed,” Dutch officials said in a statement. “Now, it has been decided not to use any of this shipment.”

Related, Italy, which has 135,586 total confirmed cases and 17,127 deaths, is being made to buy back a cache of personal protective equipment it donated to China during the early days of the outbreak.

So, here is a question: How is it that China, which claims it has had no new coronavirus deaths since late January, does not seem to know how to manufacture a decent protective mask?

Perhaps China, which is largely responsible for the pandemic, is hoarding all the good equipment for itself. Perhaps it is merely tossing its scraps to the international community, hoping the donations will give its ruling body a badly needed jolt of positive press. The United States is, after all, engaged in a war of words with China for control of the COVID-19 narrative.

Or maybe it is something worse than China keeping the good gear for itself. Perhaps its protective equipment is defective all the way down — meaning the situation in China may be far worse and far deadlier than regime apparatchiks dare admit.