Personal protective equipment is quickly being used up as the coronavirus spreads across the country, causing many states to face dwindling supplies of masks, gloves and gowns -- all crucial pieces of equipment in preventing the spread of the virus.

On Wednesday, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered the cancellation of all non-essential medical procedures to conserve the valuable equipment. On Thursday, she said the state was just “a couple days off” from running out of protective equipment for front-line medical personnel and asked anyone with a surplus to donate it to the state.

“It is critical that we preserve every piece of personal protective equipment we have in Oregon so that our health care workers can keep themselves safe while treating COVID-19,” Brown said in a statement Wednesday. “If we do not take immediate action, the surge in demand in our hospitals for masks, gowns and gloves will quickly outstrip the limited supplies they have available. We cannot let that happen.”

Brown called for donations from anyone who might have masks, gloves or gowns that could be used by health care providers treating coronavirus patients. Specifically, she called on veterinarians, dentists and construction firms to donate any new and unused equipment.

If you or your business have stores of gloves, masks, or gowns, please consider donating your surplus items to the state cache for COVID-19 preparedness. You can mail them in or drop them off. Learn how here: https://t.co/xGJHYHgYnz — Governor Kate Brown (@OregonGovBrown) March 19, 2020

On Wednesday, a spokesman for the Governor’s office said the state started out addressing the coronavirus outbreak with almost 590,000 N95 masks, used to protect health care workers from airborne hazards. He said the state has used 28 percent of its supply, and is down to 421,000. The state had used two-thirds of its surgical procedure masks, going from 49,000 to 18,000. The state used 83 percent of its 23,000 surgical procedure gowns as of Wednesday.

Brian Terrett, a spokesman for Legacy Health, which runs more than a half dozen hospitals in Oregon, said the organization had enough supplies, for now.

“Legacy Health currently has adequate personal protective equipment at this time to handle its current patient load,” he said in a statement. "Legacy Health is engaging in conservation efforts designed to minimize future shortages, as well as using alternative PPE. What is not known at this point is the size of any patient surge. A smaller surge would have less of an impact on PPE supplies than a larger surge.”

Barb Kessler, COVID incident commander for PeaceHealth Oregon, said that, while there was concern, the hospitals run by her organization were stocked for the number of patients they had on Thursday.

“Though it is a constant struggle, we currently do not have significant supply shortages for essential items such as masks, swabs and gloves," she said in a statement. "PeaceHealth shares the concern of hospitals and healthcare systems across the country as we prepare for the possibility of a significant surge of patients. We are pleased that Gov. Kate Brown is calling on hospitals to conserve, and that the federal government considers the medical supply issue a top priority.”

Those looking to donate were asked to mail or drop off donations at the following address:

ATTN: PPE Coordinator

Dept. of Corrections

3601 State Street

Salem, OR, 97301

Once collected, the equipment would be inspected and sent out to medical professionals treating coronavirus patients across the state.

Multnomah County health officials and Portland Fire and Rescue were also accepting donations of masks, gowns, gloves, face shields, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes between 9 and 4 p.m. at the Fire Marshall Office parking lot located at 1300 SE Gideon Street or at the Multnomah County Headquarters at 501 SE Hawthorne, both in Portland.

-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale

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