A "chronic shortage" of protective gear in the battle to stem the coronavirus outbreak could hit across the globe, health chiefs have warned.
Kits such as masks, gloves, testing kits, respirators and gowns are in high demand and increasingly in low supply.
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking to the agency's executive board, said: "The world is facing a chronic shortage of personnel protective equipment, as you might imagine.
"This afternoon I will be speaking to the pandemic supply chain network to identify the bottlenecks and find solutions and push (for) fairness in distribution of equipment."
Speaking in Geneva, he said the rate of new cases had slowed across China, though warned off taking too much solace from that.
"For the last two days there had been fewer reported infections in China, which is good news, but we caution against reading too much into that," he said. "The numbers could go up again."
Areas in the nation have set up rationing systems, as they attempt to meet demand.
In China, factories have switched up their productions to make extra masks and medical clothing.
Car manufacturers are among those assisting in making the supplies, while Foxconn, which works in making iPhones, also reportedly said it will assist.
This comes as the number of confirmed cases in China hit 31,211 confirmed coronavirus cases while the nation has seen 637 deaths.
There have also been 270 cases in 24 other countries with one death
