To the Editor: The MJA and Madden and colleagues1 display foresight and leadership in advocating for a transition to environmentally sustainable health care. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic exposes dual sustainability challenges: uncertain provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the face of a fractured global supply chain and burgeoning waste from single‐use materials. Australia has an opportunity to respond to both challenges by accessing local capability and switching to reusable PPE as appropriate.
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- 1. Madden D, Capon A, Truskett P. Environmentally sustainable health care: now is the time for action. Med J Aust 2020; 212: 361–362. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2020/212/8/environmentally-sustainable-health-care-now-time-action
- 2. National Health and Medical Research Council. Australian guidelines for the prevention and control of infection in healthcare (2019) [Ref. No. CD34]. https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/publications/australian-guidelines-prevention-and-control-infection-healthcare-2019 (viewed May 2020)
- 3. US Food and Drug Administration. Medical gowns (11 Mar 2020). https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/medical-gowns (viewed May 2020).
- 4. American Reusable Textile Association. New innovations in reusable OR textiles (Feb 2020). https://www.arta1.com/download/new-innovations-in-reusable-or-textiles/ (viewed May 2020).
- 5. Chin A, Chu J, Perera M, et al. Stability of SARS‐CoV‐2 in different environmental conditions. Lancet Microbe 2020; https://doi.org/10.1016/s2666-5247(20)30003-3 [Epub ahead of print].
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