Coronavirus: demand for face masks creates shortfall for those in real need
(United Nations News) Unprecedented global demand for face masks and other protective equipment fuelled by the coronavirus epidemic, has created potentially dangerous shortages for those who need them most, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Friday.
At a news conference in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged against stockpiling to ensure that healthworkers and those infected with the virus could still obtain them.
He said that he had decided to speak to manufacturers of personal protective equipment – PPE for short – to ensure that medical staff in particular received surgical masks.
Cost of facemasks increases 20-fold
“Demand is up to 100 times higher than normal and prices are up to 20 times higher. This situation has been exacerbated by widespread and inappropriate use of PPE outside patient care. As a result, there are now depleted stockpiles and backlogs of four to six months. Global stocks of masks and respirators are now insufficient to meet the needs of WHO and our partners.”
As of Friday, there have been 31,211 confirmed cases of the respiratory disease in China and 637 deaths, after it was declared on 31 December in Wuhan city in the centre of the country.
Read more at: United Nations
Source: CARICOM TODAY
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