Healthcare facilities managed to stretch the use of personal protective equipment outside of normal standards to optimize the use of an unpredictable supply, according to the Medical Express website.
Many facilities have started self-producing PPE and test materials and reprocessing respirators in the face of shortages.
A recent survey of epidemiologists found 40 percent of facilities reporting their supply of respirators was either "limited" or at "crisis level."
Fifty-two percent of respondents reported reusing the same respirator for an entire day. Seventy-one percent of facilities with supplies at "limited" to "crisis" level were practicing some form of extended use or reuse of respirators. Many facilities also turned to reprocessing PPE with 48 percent of facilities indicating that they were reprocessing respirators.
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