State working to fill in gaps in federal protective gear shipments

So far, the three major hospital systems in the Triangle area - UNC/Rex, Duke and WakeMed - tell us their supplies of personal protective equipment are holding up well for now. But they're concerned about what could happen when coronavirus cases peak in the area in the near future.

The state has received more procedure masks than it asked for from the federal reserve, and the glove supply is in pretty good shape, too.

However, North Carolina has received less than half of the N95 masks it requested from the federal government.

State emergency management director Mike Sprayberry said Tuesday they're continuing to look for supplies from wherever the state can fill the gap. He stressed it's a constantly changing situation.

"The logistics and warehouse teams are moving out some small shipments of surgical masks to hospitals and first responders," Sprayberry said at a press briefing, "but we still have major shortages in personal protective equipment."

The state's only received 20 percent of the face shields it's requested so far from the federal stockpile, so NC State is helping out. They're using 3-D printing technology to make 200 shields a day that they're giving to WakeMed.

If you know of serious shortages affecting frontline workers, please reach out to our WRAL Investigates team.