The province has not yet had to dip into a federal stockpile of personal protective equipment maintained for emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We're not going to turn to that now, we have other ways that we're using to shore up our supplies of (personal protective equipment) but we're well aware of the presence of that federal capacity and it's part of our emergency health management (plans)," Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said at Thursday's briefing.
But how much personal protective equipment the federal government actually has as a backstop to provincial health systems preparing to face the projected dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases is now being questioned.
“It is not the practice of the national emergency strategic stockpile (NESS) to divulge details about the specific type and quantity of stock in its holdings,” read a written statement by Health Canada spokeswoman Maryse Durette in response to questions from The Chronicle Herald.
The national emergency strategic stockpile is located in warehouses across Canada that hold a wide array of equipment that may be needed in the event of various disasters. According to Health Canada's website, it has ventilators, masks, gloves and disposable gowns.
But in February, Global Affairs Canada announced it sent 16 tonnes of personal protective equipment to China to assist with the outbreak of COVID-19 there.
“Our deepest thoughts are with all those affected by this outbreak,” Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne was quoted in the news release announcing the gift.
“We continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to provide further assistance as needed.”
Health Canada did not answer questions Thursday regarding whether those supplies had come from the national emergency strategic stockpile and if so whether they had been replaced afterward.
On Thursday, the Globe and Mail reported that hospitals in Ontario were rationing personal protective equipment to front-line staff.
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer called on the federal government Thursday to say how depleted federal reserves of personal protective equipment are.
“Today's news is outrageous,” Scheer said in a written statement.
“Justin Trudeau needs to explain why he sent 50,118 face shields, 1,101 masks, 1,820 goggles, 36,425 medical coveralls, 200,000 nitrile gloves and 3,000 aprons from Canada's own government reserves overseas in February.”
While Health Canada wouldn't say what remains in national stockpiles of personal protective equipment, it did say that it has made an order for 600 ventilators.
“The demand for ventilators globally is high and the government is pursuing a variety of purchasing strategies to increase the number of ventilators available for use should there be a need to augment existing supply in the short term,” reads the department's statement.
