On 3 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a call for action to the world, pleading with industries and governments to increase the manufacture of masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) by 40% to meet rising demand amid the covid-19 pandemic.
One of us is a physician, who has served on the front-lines, both in India and the US, and we cannot stress enough the importance of PPE, including masks—both to protect ourselves and to prevent infecting others.
Reduced supply, increased hoarding and growing demand is leaving all front-line medical workers grievously ill-equipped in the fight against covid-19.