Covid-19: hoarding and misuse of protective gear is jeopardising the response, WHO warns

Nearly 90 million face masks are required every month to protect health staff as they tackle covid-19, the World Health Organization has estimated, as it warned that current supplies were “rapidly depleting.”

The ability of countries to respond to the outbreak is being compromised by the “severe and increasing disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment—caused by rising demand, hoarding, and misuse,” said WHO’s director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Speaking at the daily press briefing on 3 March, he warned that stopping the covid-19 outbreak would not be possible without protecting …