With the 2019-nCoV coronavirus spreading to more regions, medical supplies are in great demand. Rubber glove makers have sought to allay fears that there may be a shortage of medical gloves in the face of the onslaught of the coronavirus from Wuhan, China.
In a statement, President of the Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association (MARGMA), Denis Low said that while manufacturers may be having a shortage of workers, the industry will tweak the production lines to run at optimum levels, to churn out medical gloves to supply to the world.
Already, there is serious ongoing procurement of gloves from the affected areas. If the Wuhan coronavirus is declared a pandemic, demand will skyrocket. Drawing parallels with the H1N1 scare, Low said that the rubber glove industry is prepared to ramp up production.
“During the period of H1N1, medical glove consumption grew by 17 percent. Our members are noble and will surely provide the necessary humanitarian services to the healthcare sectors,” said Low.
So far, the Wuhan coronavirus has infected more than 2,000 people in 11 countries. Symptoms include a runny nose, cough, sore throat, possibly a headache and maybe a fever, which can last for a couple of days. Mortality rates for the coronavirus are lower than its cousins, SARS and MERS, but that may change as new data comes in.
