Inquiry uncovers a $42.2 dollar Tasmanian PPE bill

Ordering in hand sanitiser, face masks, gowns and gloves was a costly and difficult exercise for health authorities during the COVID-19 emergency as countries around the world competed for supply.

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TASMANIA spent $42.2m on Personal Protective Equipment between March and the end of June as it ordered in face masks, gowns and gloves for health workers during the peak of the State’s coronavirus emergency.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney told a Public Accounts Committee Inquiry into Tasmania’s COVID-19 emergency the State had never run out of PPE supply but procuring enough hospital grade sanitiser had been a struggle as countries around the world scrambled for stock.

Tasmania now has a stockpile of PPE in case there is another outbreak which includes 11 million surgical masks, 600,000 gowns, 1.2 million pairs of goggles, eight million gloves and 170,000 face shields.

“I think the team did a fantastic job in procurement when every other country in the world was ordering supplies and ordering aggressively,” Ms Courtney told the inquiry.

In late February and March PPE monitoring was a significant issue for health authorities, she said, and respirators, hand sanitiser and other goods needed to be locked down due to theft.

Ms Courtney told the inquiry all 17 recommendations put froward in the interim report into the outbreak in the State’s North West had now been implemented.

Of Tasmania’s 226 coronavirus cases, 138 cases were linked to the NW outbreak including 80 health staff.

Of the 226 cases, one third of the infections were acquired overseas with the rest transmitted locally.

Two Ruby Princess cruise ship passengers were identified as the likely source of infection in the North West Regional Hospital and Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said laboratory work had since proved that was the case.

The first COVID-19 test was conducted in Tasmania on March 5 and about 1000 Tasmanians are still being tested each day.

In the 2019-2020 financial year, that testing cost the State almost $10m.

Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said the State was moving away from testing people without symptoms who were not from high-risk settings.

People can test positive within two days of being exposed to the virus, Dr Veitch said.

Chief Medical Officer Tony Lawler said lessons had been learned from the NW outbreak and infection control training had been ramped up for health care workers.