Demand for personal protective equipment, including surgical face masks, is 100 times higher than normal, and prices are 20 times higher due to fears surrounding the coronavirus, the American Hospital Association said.
The World Health Organization, CDC and HHS are all worried about shortages of personal protective equipment in hospitals, leaving vulnerable people at risk of contracting the coronavirus.
"This situation has been exacerbated by widespread, inappropriate use of [personal protective equipment] outside patient care," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a Jan. 7 news release.
The WHO said the Pandemic Supply Chain Network, formed by the World Economic Forum for use in health emergencies, will encourage medical supply manufacturers to increase production and prioritize sending supplies to front-line health emergency responders.
Read the full news release here.