Front line hospital staff are currently caring for patients confirmed to have COVID-19 wearing only gloves, paper masks and plastic aprons. Yet the public have been advised that paper masks are ineffective as protection against coronavirus infection. It is only a matter of time before healthcare workers are infected en masse, compromising the ability of the NHS to care for patients with any disease, not just coronavirus. High rates of infection amongst healthcare workers in other countries have been seen and will decrease the already stretched ability of our healthcare system to deal with this crisis. Please sign this petition to ask the government and the NHS to urgently prioritise protecting staff during the pandemic by providing adequate personal protective equipment.