FEMA head testifies 'We have a ways to go' on having enough PPE

FEMA head: 'We have a ways to go' on having enough PPE The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Congress on Wednesday the country has “a ways to go” on getting enough protective equipment for health workers fighting coronavirus, Peter Sullivan TheHill

WASHINGTON--The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Congress on Wednesday the country has “a ways to go” on getting enough protective equipment for health workers fighting coronavirus, though he said the situation has been improving. 

“I want to be clear: We have a ways to go on making sure we have enough PPE,” Administrator Pete Gaynor said at a congressional hearing, referring to personal protective equipment. “This is not as simple as just throwing a light switch and we just magically make more.” 

Hospitals and doctors have been reporting shortages of masks, gowns and other protective equipment for months as the pandemic rages. 

Gaynor testified that many states are reporting they now have stockpiles of equipment that could last 60 or 90 days or more. 

But Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Gaynor that lawmakers are still hearing about shortages of the equipment from hospitals in their districts.