Some 30 Ottawa paramedics have been removed from front-line duties because their employer has run out of the N95 masks that properly fit their faces. Soon after the arrival of COVID-19, the Ottawa Paramedic Service's mask usage shot up and they found themselves completely out of the 3M 1870+, one type of N95 mask paramedics had access to before the pandemic, a source within the service told CBC. The other N95 mask used by the service, the 3M 1805, doesn't seal properly for some paramedics who have smaller heads or narrower faces. Most of the Ottawa Paramedic Service's roughly 700 paramedics can fit the still-in-stock 3M 1805 mask, said Anthony Di Monte, general manager of emergency and protective services for the City of Ottawa. Due to COVID-19 shortages, the Ottawa Paramedic Service has run out of the masks that fit the faces of roughly 30 of their paramedics.

Source: CBC News July 11, 2020 07:51 UTC