The answer.... That's a loaded question. I think what is happening in my hospital, as an example of what's happening across the country, is preservation of personal protective equipment. Some would call it rationing. Certainly, our nurses are being told to use two surgical masks on a shift basis, which can go from eight to 12 hours. That seems like rationing.
By the same token, I think we have to be a little bit careful. I believe the promises of government that equipment and help is on the way. I think there is a little bit of concern about excessive anxiety and perhaps limited science. We know the N95, which is what a lot of people are calling for, really is for aerosol-generating procedures, such as intubations or code blue cardiac arrests.
Given the prevalence and the circumstances, I'm not really sure that's exactly what we need at this point in time, so we need to be protective of that supply until we are guaranteed its certainty. For the most part, just using droplet precautions, I think, should serve most of us quite well.