Staff Ed: all essential workers need personal protective equipment

By THE BLUE AND GRAY EDITORIAL BOARD

This past Friday, President Trump issued a new guidance for everyone venturing outside to wear “non-medical cloth” face coverings in order to help slow the spread of COVID-19. This guidance comes after CDC recommendations to require face masks which will help to stop the spread of the virus to others in our community as well as the essential workers that we interact with.

However, there’s a large deficit in the availability of the medical-grade protection that is most effective against the spread of the virus. This is coming at a time when the federal government has maintained that it is the state’s job to provide this equipment which leaves states to compete with each other over the dwindling supply of protective equipment.

While priority for medical-grade protection goes to medical facilities, workers at other essential businesses are left without personal protective equipment but are still at a higher risk of being infected every day. Many students are working for these essential businesses where people can come in without masks and without protection. This puts both the customers and the essential workers at risk. Due to these threats to their safety, we need to make sure that our essential workers are not just hailed as heroes, but are also given what they need to be safe and to support the rest of us during this very confusing and dangerous time.