The World Health Organization first raised warnings of a global scarcity of PPE — the gloves, respirator masks and face visors that medical staff wear to prevent contracting and spreading disease — in early February. 

Now, nearly two months later, there is a steady stream of reporting from around the country and in Maine on the workarounds health workers are resorting to amid growing scarcity of protective supplies. Nurses are using bleach and experimenting with ultraviolet light to sterilize their masks for reuse. People around the country are volunteering to sew masks for health care workers at home. 

Maine’s First District Rep. Chellie Pingree was the first in the state’s federal delegation to call for the government to take the reins in the manufacture and distribution of PPE.

Read more at the Beacon.