NC Health Care Workers Concerned Over Potential Equipment Shortages

Some health care workers in North Carolina are worried about not having enough personal protective equipment, also known as PPE - as more cases of coronavirus are confirmed in the state.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention recently made changes in guidelines for medical workers in response to claims about supply shortages. Instead of only wearing N95 respirators, they can wear other masks too.

But that concerns Dr. Carly Brown of Asheville. She's using telemedicine to keep social distance and swabs any suspected coronavirus patients in her practice's parking lot.   

Brown says she's also concerned about other supplies like gowns and gloves.

“It's the only way to protect all of the people who need to engage or people who have the virus, and so we just need a lot more,” she says. “And I know that everybody is working on it, but we need almost like a wartime effort to get this PPE together.”

Several hospitals across the state have halted elective surgeries to conserve equipment and other resources.  

During a press conference on Thursday, Gov. Roy Cooper said North Carolina is managing its current supplies and is ahead of other states, but remains cautious because we can expect more patients as testing increases across the state.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here.

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