Army called in as Britain struggles with Covid-19 response
Britain said it was ramping up its provision of protective equipment to healthcare staff fighting the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus, and bringing in the army to greatly help with deliveries, after struggling to get enough supply to hospitals.
The distribution and delivery of an incredible number of components of personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks will now be completed by the army who will drive trucks throughout the day and night, health minister Matt Hancock said in a statement.
Millions more items have been provided to hospitals, ambulance trust, GP practices, care homes and other health services within the last couple of days, he added, after complaints emerged from medical staff that they did not have enough kit.
The authorities have released protective kit from the national stockpile reserved for pandemic influenza, said the joint statement from the department of health insurance and National Health Service on Monday.
They said that supply of protective equipment was rising.
“We are taking urgent action to ensure dedicated frontline NHS and social care staff - who will work tirelessly to tackle this outbreak - feel supported. Today they are getting millions more PPE kits within that promise,” Hancock said.
There was now enough supply of PPE available, added the statement, but acknowledged that there may be challenges in future because of unprecedented global demand in addition to the fact that a lot of kit is manufactured in China, where coronavirus hit production.
“The NHS is working closely with the federal government, NHS Supply Chain and industry to continue to secure additional supplies,” the authorities said in a statement. - Reuters
