As the coronavirus confirmed case toll sits at 4421 on Tuesday, 7 April, the prevailing crisis of a lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for healthcare workers persists.
In a circular today, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said that each healthcare worker will henceforth be provided with five N95 masks for the next 20 days.
These include doctors (faculty and residents - junior and senior), nursing officers, technical staff, security guards and maintenance staff.
FIT spoke Dr Srinivas, general surgeon and RDA of AIIMS, who confirmed the news to us.
He further pointed us towards the CDC guidelines that explain that “extended use of N95 respirator masks has been recommended as an option for conserving respirators during previous respiratory pathogen outbreaks and pandemics.”
These are well-established guidelines for managing supplies during shortages, that definite the various steps healthcare workers must take to ensure that the masks are being used efficiently and safely.
AIIMS’ Resident Doctor's Association (RDA) had written to their administration on 16 Match about the lack of PPE in the hospital, and have been raising the issue since.
This is one strategy to protect healthcare workers and buy time to increase the stock of PPEs.
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