Key PPE items not in pandemic response stockpile as Covid-19 struck

Gowns and visors among items not deemed necessary by expert committee in 2009, BBC finds

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Key items of personal protective equipment (PPE) were not included in the government's pandemic stockpile when coronavirus reached the UK, an investigation has found.

BBC Panorama reported that gowns, visors, swabs and body bags were left out of the stockpile when it was set up in 2009. Some of the items are now in short supply.