Barnstable County Health Officials Say Need for Personal Protective Equipment Remains High

Patient being tested at the Cape Cod Healthcare drive-thru facility at Cape Cod Community College

HYANNIS – According to Barnstable County health officials, Cape Cod is slowly receiving personal protective equipment, however the need for PPE remains high.  

“We are seeing things come on a daily basis out of the state, we’re not quite seeing large amount of things coming in, but it is coming into the area,” said Director of the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment, Sean O’Brien.  

“It’s coming in, it’s not in great numbers, is there a shortage, I think yes there still is, we are starting to see equipment come in but yes we are hoping we start to see more PPE available to our folks for medical personnel and first responders.”

Health officials have been working with multi-agency coordination centers to make sure that first responders and medical personnel are receiving the PPE that is coming to Cape Cod.

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency is handling everything PPE related with first responders.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health is taking federal assets and getting them out to hospitals and healthcare providers.

County health officials said they are also beginning to see the number of cases on Cape Cod increase.

Wednesday saw 96 cars come through the drive-thru facility at Cape Cod Community College, which brings the total numbers of cars to 1,228 since the facility opened.

The number of cars that have come through the facility do not represent the exact number of people who have been tested.

O’Brien said that as more cases come in, officials will do everything in their power to try and slow the curve of the virus.

He added that the virus will forever change how medical professionals all over the world handle similar situations.

National health officials such as Doctor Anthony Fauci hypothesized that a second wave of the virus could hit the United States in the fall after a decrease in cases over the summer.

When asked, O’Brien said that if that happens to be the case, it will allow for health officials to be more prepared in the future.

He also said that during a downtime it would allow for greater production of PPE and that Cape Cod could accumulate a stockpile for emergency situations.

The Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment is currently seeking volunteers to join their medical reserves corp.

To learn more about volunteering, visit Barnstablecountyhealth.org.