(Submitted Photo)

NORWICH - As concern over the shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE) for emergency personnel and health care workers continues nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic, SUNY Morrisville’s Norwich Campus is doing all it can to help locally.

They’re providing emergency agencies in Chenango County with use of an on-campus ultraviolet (UV) sterilization cabinet that allows for protective equipment to be used more than once.

The unit can sterilize up to 30 N95 masks, worn over the face to prevent the inhalation of airborne particles, and eight to 10 full-face shields. Its use allows departments to stretch their current supply.

“While not directly affecting the national shortage, sanitizing the PPE allows us to make fewer requests to the county and state,” said Jason Gray, a captain with the Norwich Fire Department and a student in the nursing program at the Norwich Campus. “This decline in need on our part allows those resources to be deployed to areas that are harder hit and in dire need.”

“Recognizing that the lack of access to PPE is a real threat to our fire departments, law enforcement agencies and health care facilities, we are honored to have the opportunity to support our local organizations who are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Lindsey Lefevre, director of the Norwich Campus.

The number of positive coronavirus cases in Chenango County as of April 10 is 55 according to the NYS Department of Health COVID tracker.