Hospitals in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, are among those lacking enough personal protective equipment for staff members in the midst of the coronavirus.
“There are backlogs in all of the personal protective equipment and other equipment, and we’re talking about masks and gowns and gloves,” said Dr. Nilesh Kalyanaraman, the county’s health officer.
The county’s top health officer said some supplies arrived earlier this week from the national strategic stockpile, though there still might not be enough.
“We shared it with the hospitals and with some other facilities that have the highest level of need — so long term care facilities,” he said. “It’s a start, it’s not enough.”
The county is pushing for additional supplies, and the health officer said he’s encouraged by some of the grassroots efforts launched to create more personal protective equipment.
“There’s also a lot of work being done around individuals making personal protective equipment and small companies doing that, and also shifting our manufacturing sector towards that,” he said.
Dr. Kalyanaraman said the county is working to obtain the needed equipment.
“Stay tuned. We’re working on that actively, and I’m hoping that we can see some real progress on that in the next few weeks,” said Dr. Kalyanarman.
As of Wednesday, there were 423 reported cases of COVID-19 in Maryland. Thirty-one of those cases are in Anne Arundel County.
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