THE Health Ministry has procured 33 million items of personal protection equipment (PPE) for healthcare facilities nationwide, to be distributed this week.

The ministry said it has also received 3 million PPEs in donations, which will again be distributed to according to needs, said director-general of health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah today.

He said distributing PPEs was an issue because of the high demand at centres such as Hospital Sungai Buloh, after social media allegations of frontliners facing a shortages and having to resort to DIY protective gear.

“That’s the reason why we are now going to stock up all the hospitals, to make sure that they have enough to utilise over the next couple of weeks,” he said during a press conference in Putrajaya.

“So, I don’t think there is an issue because we have ample stock of masks and PPEs, actually,” he said, adding the shortage of PPEs was a global issue, and the ministry will always prioritise the safety of its healthcare workers.

The Malaysian Insight reported yesterday that shortages had left medical workers on the front lines of the battle against Covid-19 concerned about their health. – March 23, 2020.