During Monday’s Covid 19 update, Premier Stephen McNeil assured residents the province is confident in its current supply chain of protective masks for front line health care workers.
Over the last number of weeks, said McNeil, there were a number of concerns regarding
Premier Stephen McNeil (Nova Scotia Government photo)
protective masks for health care workers. He said the province has been engaged in the procurement process, noting masks are a commodity around the world. Before distributing, McNeil said the province wanted to be sure they had enough.
The private sector helped in securing masks, as did local companies not currently operating. The premier said they also relied on the national procurement program, adding he also reached out to contacts in China. Currently, the province has enough surgical, N-95, and face shields that McNeil says he feels confident about the current supply and their orders.
McNeil said there has been a lot of anxiety amongst frontline health care workers regarding masks and apologized if the province contributed to that anxiety. He said he wanted to be sure they had a handle on their procurement procedures, calling it a full provincial effort with the public and private sector working together to protect frontline workers.