The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of many a frontline warrior, especially health workers, world over, raising concerns among scientists. India and Mexico have reported disproportionately higher death rates as compared to the rest of the world. The WHO claims health workers are more at risk of exposure to COVID because 75 percent of frontline warriors worldwide are women, who are wearing masks and other PPE equipment designed for men.

A leading PPE manufacturer in Bengaluru agrees. He said, "The craze for having PPE kits has come down in the past couple of weeks, as compared to the initial days of the pandemic. Earlier, hospitals were very cautious about the quality, approval system, and adherence to guidelines for the PPE kits, and more over, the number of manufacturers was less. This would lead to a high cost for the kit (varying from R450 to R800). Now in the past few months suddenly there has been a PPE manufacturer has come up in every nook and corner, and is selling the product at a low price (R300 – R400) with no quality assurance."