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Manitoba took a big step towards addressing the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) this week as the province opened its arms to a large shipment of disposable gowns for front-line workers.

On Tuesday afternoon, a chartered Air Canada Boeing 777 arrived in Manitoba carrying 150,000 disposable isolation gowns procured by local medical supply company SpiritRx Services.

SpiritRx Services, owned by the Spirit Healthcare Group representing the seven tribal councils of Manitoba, said they had been in the process of putting together safety kits for First Nations communities when they applied to help the province secure essential protective gear.

"When the pandemic headed our way, because communities are remote and housing is a problem, we were trying to build kits for households so they would have some supplies," said SpiritRx CEO Heather Berthelette in an interview Thursday.

"As we were securing product and bringing product in, we registered on the province of Manitoba website looking for some assistance."

The province reached out on April 2, Berthelette said, and by April 9 the company had been able to provide the province with testable samples.

The 150,000 gowns took up the entire cargo area of the 777, said SpiritRx CEO Heather Berthelette. (Winnipeg Airports Authority)

By April 21, the first plane was loaded with 150,000 gowns from a Chinese manufacturing plant that SpiritRx holds a long-standing relationship with.

"They had ordered one million gowns, we were able to fit 150,000 on the first shipment. It takes up the entire cargo area of a Boeing 777 so we couldn't squeeze one more on that flight," said Berthelette.

"We filled every corner of that plane."

The rest of the gowns will come in stages. Another 150,000 are expected to arrive on a May 5 flight, and the rest will be shipped in smaller, weekly batches with 40-foot containers.

"It was a very successful joint venture that I think Manitoba should be very proud of," Berthelette said. "Glad that we reached out and that they were actually very excited to work with us, it sure went well and I think both of us are very happy."

The province announced the procurement in a press release Thursday, and noted that the provincial government has set aside $400 million in funding to buy PPE for front-line workers as part of the Manitoba Protection Plan.

A spokesperson for the province said the gowns cost approximately $1.9 million in total, and would be distributed to a variety of locations across the health-care system.

The government is continuing to ask manufacturers, businesses and other organizations to help with procurement if they are able to rapidly scale up Manitoba-based manufacturing or if they have stockpiled PPE that is going unused due to closures and physical distancing.

julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca