Page 57 - FIGHT AGAINST UNCERTAINTY 5 FEB 2021

Global Shortage of PPE

12 March 2020 would always remain
a date that will be remembered
throughout history. Beside a declaration
of COVID-19 as a pandemic by WHO, it
also meant that many countries imposed
national border controls and economic
restrictions on import and export of
medical products. For the medical world,
this signalled a bigger issue as the
production and manufacturing of PPE
were gravely affected. With conditions of
limited supply sources and high demand,
there was a worldwide competition to
obtain PPE supplies. The global issue
on PPE shortage significantly affected
Malaysia, as it relies heavily on external
manufacturers for items such as
disposable respirator N95, disposable
isolation gown, disposable face shield,
and disposable jumpsuit/protective
coverall. With global lock downs, the
restriction of movement only meant
limited imports arrived on Malaysian
grounds. Compounding that, obtaining
these products/items posed a challenge
as many services were affected with the
MCO here in Malaysia. Nonetheless,
these were challenges that the team
faced head on to ensure our supplies and
hospital preparedness was at an optimal
level.
News on WHO declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic
and global shortage of PPE

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