Masks Have Finally Arrived In America To Aid Struggling Medical Workers
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With coronavirus spreading rapidly in hotspots all over the country, hospitals are overflowing with people who are infected. There has been a nationwide call to supply medical workers with more protective equipment like N95 masks. They wear these masks to protect themselves from airborne particles that could possibly infect them with viruses like COVID-19. There has been a shortage of face masks causing workers to reuse the ones they have. Finally, large shipments of face masks have begun to land in the United States to help medical works have the protection they need in order to take care of patients.
A 3M factory in Singapore sent a shipment of 24 pallets of face masks to a Los Angeles port. Another shipment of 130,000 masks was flown by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. They came from Southeast Asia. A humanitarian aid organization called Direct Relief is expecting 80,000 masks to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport in the next few days. The organization has been distributing medical supplies to hospitals across the country. Both New York and California have been hotspots of the coronavirus outbreak with cases in New York reaching over 43,000. There are nearly 7,000 confirmed cases in California and these numbers are only expected to grow.
FEMA Has Shipped Millions Of Face Masks To The Tri-State Area
The first FEMA flight landed last week at Kennedy Airport with an 80-ton shipment of medical supplies. This includes 130,000 N95 masks, 1.8 million face masks and gowns, 10.3 million gloves and thousands of thermometers. These supplies will be distributed to hospitals and medical centers throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. There are already 19 more FEMA flights that are set to deliver supplies all over the United States and more to be scheduled. The supplies are produced in Asia which is now seeing lower numbers of coronavirus cases.
FEMA is also sending out help in other ways. They are providing New York City with 250 ambulances, 500 more EMTs and paramedics and 85 refrigerated trucks. These trucks have been used to store bodies of coronavirus victims across the city due to overcrowding in hospitals.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan thanked FEMA for sending more ventilators to hospitals in need across the state. Ventilators have been used to treat patients who have experienced trouble breathing and have been in such high demand.
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Medical Supplies Are Made In China Which Experienced Its Own Chaos From Pandemic
The United States’ main source of medical supplies was made in China. The last time a delivery of medical-grade N95 masks arrived from China was on February 19. China has reported 81,554 cases of their own, however, they are seeing a decrease in cases and are now trying to get their economy back on track.
China recently sent medical supplies and doctors to Italy, another country that is struggling immensely with a high amount of cases. The country is currently looking to supply Italy with 10,000 pulmonary ventilators, 2 million face masks and 20,000 protective suits. Again, face masks are a huge part of the protective measures for medical staff. France has also ordered face masks from China to ease the number of growing coronavirus cases in their country.
People Have Started To Make Their Own Masks
Face masks are difficult for ordinary people that are not in the health profession to access as well. Though people are urged to stay home, many have scrambled to find face masks to wear during their grocery store outings or walks. People took matters into their own hands and began to produce their own.
PA Correctional Industries even began producing their own masks to keep people safe and not have to compete with the public supplies. They acknowledge that medical workers’ needs are important and that they should be prioritized.
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Hopefully, with an increase in face mask shipments to the United States and countries in need, coronavirus cases will see a decrease and begin to flatten the curve.
