The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of increased risk for health workers of exposure to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases due to the growing shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).
As WHO notes, disruption to the global supply of PPE has been caused by "rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse" of PPE, including medical masks, respirators, gloves, gowns and aprons. As a result, health workers are increasingly finding themselves ill-equipped to care for patients, including those with or believed to have the new coronavirus.
WHO is calling on industry to increase manufacturing of PPE by 40% and governments to incentivize such production, including easing restrictions on export and distribution of medical supplies.
"We can't stop COVID-19 without protecting health workers first," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.