Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), usually consisting of masks, gowns, and gloves, are inadequate in numbers in wake of the coronavirus spread.
Mumbai| While India followed ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday observing a self-imposed curfew urged by PM Modi and applauded health workers and doctors for their sacrifices, doctors and health workers saw a horror unfold in front of them as numbers of coronavirus cases saw an unprecedented surge. The concerning issue regarding the doctors and health workers is of providing them with necessary safety gear to fight coronavirus. But turns out, India didn’t stockpile the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required for doctors and health workers to not get infected while treating a patient.
On 19th March, the Indian government issued a notification banning the export of PPE manufactured in India. This decision came three weeks after WHO instructed countries that there might be a disruption in the supply of PPE.
On 27th March, the WHO had released guidelines stating, “The current global stockpile of PPE is insufficient, particularly for medical masks and respirators; the supply of gowns and goggles is soon expected to be insufficient also. Surging global demand-driven not only by the number of COVID-19 cases but also by misinformation, panic buying and stockpiling − will result in further shortages of PPE globally.”
According to WHO guidelines, the PPE consists of gloves, medical masks, gowns, and respirators like the N95 masks. Despite that, the Indian government did not ban the export of domestically manufactured PPE, or the raw material required for it.
After India saw its first patient of Covid-19 on 31st January, the government’s directorate general of foreign trade issued a notification to restrict the export of all PPE. But within a week, the order was amended. The government allowed to export surgical masks and gloves. By the end of February, when Italy was witnessing phase one of the transmission reporting 11 deaths and over 200 infections, India further relaxed the ban and allowed the export of 8 new items of PPE.
It’s absolutely clear that India didn’t foresee the grave situation it could land the country in, even after the WHO guidelines. India didn’t stockpile the necessary PPE, now making many doctors and health workers go to their job without safety gears.
(The government order to prohibit the export of PPE on 19th March)
(Resident Doctors of AIIMS Delhi wrote a letter complaining inadequate PPE)
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