Global health officials begged producers, wholesalers and retailers Friday to funnel gear to frontline workers battling the new virus from China, saying demand for masks, respirators and other equipment is high, but supply is dwindling and they fear instances of hoarding or price-gouging.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said any ripples in the supply chain could hold back the response, so he wants the private and public sector to direct equipment to the right people at a fair price.
“Demand is up to 100 times higher than normal, and prices are up to 20 times higher. This situation has been exacerbated by widespread inappropriate use of PPE outside patient care,” he said, using a shorthand for personal protective equipment. “As a result, there are now depleted stockpiles and backlogs of four to six months.”
The coronavirus that began in Wuhan, China, has flourished into a full-scale global health scare since its discovery in December.
WHO on Friday reported 31,211 confirmed cases and 637 deaths in China. Officials said the day-to-day counts of infections are decreasing, though it’s unclear if that trend will persist.
“For the last two days, there have been fewer reported new infections in China, which is good news. But at the same time, we caution against reading too much into that,” Mr. Ghebreyesus said. “The numbers could go up again.”
Outside China, there have been 270 cases spread across 24 countries. A man died in the Philippines after traveling there from Wuhan.
WHO officials said high-capacity labs around the world have filled a critical gap by accepting referral samples from countries that aren’t able to test for coronavirus.
However, WHO said there is a serious shortfall in protective equipment.
“We are appreciative of companies that have taken the decision to only supply masks to medical professionals,” Mr. Ghebreyesus said. “There is limited stock of PPE and we need to make sure we get it to the people who need it most in the places that need it most. The first priority is health workers. The second priority is those who are sick or caring for someone who is sick.”
Mike Ryan, director of WHO’s emergencies program, said they aren’t worried so much about the everyday masks that civilians are buying up. Those masks may not prevent someone from getting infected, anyway, though they can thwart the virus from spreading to others — or at least make people feel better amid the epidemic.
Instead, WHO is referring to more sophisticated gear used in hospitals and medical settings.
“If we start to see the normal civilian market being flooded with N95 and other respirator-type masks, and we see doctors and nurses and hospitals not having those, then there is a problem,” he said.
Dr. Ryan said he didn’t want people to think the WHO is slamming the private sector.
However, “there are normal market forces and they need to be managed,” he said. “We need to start looking at what is the minimum amount of supply that needs to be protected and directed to those institutions and systems that require it for the next numbers of months. That shouldn’t be too hard to do. There’s still plenty of money to be made.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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