Concerns over supply of gear

THE World Health Organisation has warned that severe and mounting disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) – caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse – is putting lives at risk from the new coronavirus (Covid-19) and other infectious diseases.
WHO said healthcare workers relied on PPE to protect themselves and their patients from being infected and infecting others.
But shortages are leaving doctors, nurses and other frontline workers dangerously ill-equipped to care for Covid-19 patients, due to limited access to supplies such as gloves, medical masks, respirators, goggles, face shields, gowns and aprons.
“Without secure supply chains, the risk to healthcare workers around the world is real,” WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
“Industry and governments must act quickly to boost supply, ease export restrictions and put measures in place to stop speculation and hoarding.
“We can’t stop Covid-19 without protecting health workers first.”
Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, prices have surged – surgical masks have seen a six-fold increase, N95 respirators have trebled and gowns have doubled.
Supplies can take months to deliver and market manipulation is widespread, with stocks frequently sold to the highest bidder.
Recent WHO guidance calls for the rational and appropriate use of PPE in healthcare settings, and the effective management of supply chains.