Over 1 million items of vital personal protective equipment (PPE) have now been distributed to frontline staff by the City of Wolverhampton Council since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Latest figures show that, as of yesterday (Monday 6 July, 2020), a total of 1,001,139 items have been provided to social care staff, bin crews, education and housing staff, health workers and funeral directors to enable them to continue delivering essential services throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

They include over 236,000 masks, nearly 467,000 pairs of gloves, over 290,000 aprons and gowns, 878 litres of hand sanitiser and 4,677 items of eyewear.

The council has purchased hundreds of thousands of items of PPE since the end of March, and also received a wide range of donations from businesses and individuals who responded to a city wide appeal in April.

Councillor Linda Leach, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Adult Services, said: “Despite a global shortage of personal protective equipment, we've been able to source vital items of PPE and had a tremendous response for donations from people and businesses in Wolverhampton.

“We’re continuing to work as quickly as we can to ensure we get the kit out to those frontline staff who need it, not just those working for the council but also for local care providers and other organisations who have found it hard to get PPE through their normal channels, and are delighted to have hit the one million milestone this week.

"This is thanks to the hard work of everyone who has been involved in making this happen, including our equipment stores, delivery drivers and our Commissioning, Health and Safety, Trading Standards, Insight and Performance, Public Health and Procurement teams."

The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at GOV.UK and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at Coronavirus advice and information.  There’s lots of advice on how people can protect themselves and their families from coronavirus from the NHS at Coronavirus (COVID-19).  

The council’s Stay Safe, Be Kind campaign offers clear and simple advice about how people can help themselves, and how they can support others who may be particularly vulnerable at this time. For more information, please visit Stay Safe, Be Kind.