Canada’s top public health officer says federal and provincial officials are now taking stock of the medical supplies and equipment they’d need to respond to a coronavirus pandemic — but the responsibility for ensuring those inventories are up to date lies with the provinces.
Canada’s top public health officer says federal and provincial officials are now taking stock of the medical supplies and equipment they’d need to respond to a coronavirus pandemic — but the responsibility for ensuring those inventories are adequate lies with the provinces.
During a briefing call with reporters Thursday, Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said the Public Health Agency of Canada serves a national coordination role for planning and preparing for health emergencies, and can do bulk purchasing on the provinces’ behalf. While there is a federal stockpile of some medical supplies, it’s normally reserved for rare, “high-impact” biological or radiological events.
Tam said that in those cases, the federal government can top up provincial and territorial supplies in the event they run short.
“As a result of the changing landscape because of COVID-19, we are pulling together that kind of information right now,” she said.
“Of course, we have to adapt to … the evolution of the outbreak in order to fine-tune some of these estimates. But that’s the kind of exercise that’s being undertaken right now. But the granularity of the system’s preparedness is, of course, left to the provinces and territories.”
More @ Source: Public health officials taking stock of supplies, equipment to prepare for possible coronavirus pandemic | CBC News
