A medic prepares to transport a patient from the Life Care Center of Kirkland in Washington on February 29, where multiple staff and residents have reportedly exhibited coronavirus-like symptoms. David Ryder/Getty Images

Concerned about potential shortages of protective gear, the US Food and Drug Administration has granted a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention request to let healthcare workers use a wider variety of respirators.

A number of countries globally have seen shortages of protective masks as governments and citizens buy large numbers to guard against the coronavirus outbreak.

The FDA regulates what respirators healthcare workers can use. Today’s decision will allow medical personnel to use respirators that have been approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, such as certain N95 masks, but do not necessarily meet FDA requirements.

“We will continue pursuing every possible avenue to secure the protective gear needed for responding to the COVID-19 outbreak," US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.

The FDA has been monitoring medical supplies with concern that there could be shortages of some protective equipment.

In a statement Monday, they said that they are not aware of “specific widespread shortages of personal protective equipment, but there are reports of increased ordering of these products and shortages have been observed in some US health care institutions.”

There are currently 105 confirmed infections of the coronavirus in the United States.