The federal government is establishing a new personal protective equipment (PPE) reserve, where essential services can buy things like disinfectant wipes and non-medical face coverings.
The Essential Services Contingency Reserve will be operational "within the coming weeks," according to spokesperson from Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand's office.
"This will be a temporary reserve of critical supplies and equipment that can be purchased at cost by essential services sectors that have been unable to acquire these items elsewhere," she said.While some PPE support is already being provided for front-line health-care workers, this latest supply is focused on providing PPE to essential service providers who work beyond the health-care system.
"The reserve will stock PPE and critical supplies, including KN95 respirators, surgical masks, non-medical cloth and disposable masks, gowns, face shields, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and gloves," a press release from Anand's office said. Canada's PPE stockpile was an issue in the early days in the pandemic, with Health Minister Patty Hajdu admitting in early April that Canada "likely did not have enough" personal protective equipment stockpiled ahead of this pandemic.
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