We need more personal protective equipment, the plea today to lawmakers from Minnesota’s hospitals and health care workers. Mary Turner, President of the Minnesota Nurses Association, choked back tears as told a special state Senate COVID-19 response group, “We head into the hospitals every day with what little PPE we have, and that’s our armor. But you know something? We’re ready to do battle on this virus, knowing that the patients and the public is why we became nurses.”
Governor Tim Walz responds he can’t get answers on the strategic national stockpile, but is hoping to release a state dashboard tomorrow (Fri) so Minnesotans get an idea what’s on hand here. Walz says, “We’ll have a chart that’ll show you the burn rates. We know now how many days of gloves we have, how many days of masks we have, how many days of other things we have. We’ll start putting those out there, but they are not nearly as robust as they need to be.” The governor indicates beefing up supplies of personal protective equipment is a top priority.