With the rapid development of the COVID-19 pandemic, the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) has become a major problem across the world, including in the U.S.

The hashtag #GetMePPE is being used by doctors and nurses seeking PPE on social media platforms.

However, speaking about the shortage of protective gear could cause the termination of their jobs.

Ming Lin, an emergency room physician of Peace Health St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, told the Associated Press last Friday that he had been fired because he publicly criticized the coronavirus preparations at his hospital.

On Facebook and in media interviews Lin has repeatedly criticized what he saw as a sluggish response to the threat by the hospital's administration. Lin insisted that the hospital was slow to screen visitors, negligent in not testing staff, wrong to rely on a company that was taking 10 days to process COVID-19 test results, and derelict in obtaining protective equipment for staff.

A similar case happened in Chicago in which a nurse was fired after emailing colleagues about wanting to wear a more protective mask while on duty, Bloomberg reported. In New York, the NYU Langone Health system has warned its workers that they could be fired if they talk to the media without authorization.

Health care workers "must have the ability to tell the public what is really going on inside the facilities where they are caring for COVID-19 patients," Ruth Schubert, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Nurses Association, told Bloomberg.

Last Monday, a group of nurses protested outside Kaiser Permanente's Oakland Medical Center asking for more PPE.

The California Nurses Association and National Nurses United created a flyer for members which reads: "Kaiser has told nurses that if they're seen wearing their personal N95 masks, they could be fired 'on the spot' for insubordination."

Kaiser responded that firing nurses for using their own N95 masks is not the company's official policy. 

"We provide the appropriate medical-grade protective equipment for the protocols and level of patient care being provided. We cannot assure the integrity of protective equipment not provided by Kaiser Permanente," Marc Brown, spokesperson of Kaiser, wrote in a statement to The Intercept. "We want them to wear equipment we can be sure is effective."

Keep job or speak out also the choice in UK

It's also been the case in the UK where medical workers have said they are being put at risk during the outbreak. A frontline doctor told the BBC that they feel like "cannon fodder" without adequate protective equipment like masks.

Doctors told The Independent on Tuesday that they are not allowed to speak publicly about the shortage of PPE when treating COVID-19 patients. Some claim that hospital managers and National Health Service (NHS) bodies have threatened their careers, warning them not to make any comments on social media and to avoid talking to journalists.

NHS England, according to the Independent, confirmed that it has been controlling media communication. However, the body clarified that the act was "part of its national emergency incident planning to ensure the public received clear and consistent information."

At least two doctors have had their jobs terminated, and one in London said they were not even allowed to wear protective kit bought by themselves or stop working, according to The Independent, which added that it has received a series of emails and messages warning staff not doing so.

For those who spoke out about their concern for the equipment shortage, punishment, as revealed by The Guardian includes threatening emails, the possibility of disciplinary action and being sent home from work.

This has raised disagreement from experts.

Dr. Samantha Batt Rawden, president of Doctors' Association UK (DAUK), said it is "unacceptable."

"Doctors have a moral duty to make their concerns regarding COVID-19 public if these cannot be resolved locally," she told The Guardian.

Dr. Rinesh Parmar, chairman of the DAUK told The Independent "We are seeing draconian measures used to gag doctors and nurses on the frontline. The NHS will only benefit if we learn from each other's experience. If we are unable to share our learning then patients will be put at risk."

However, "Once a major incident occurs it is vital that the public receive fast, authoritative, open, clear and consistent information from their NHS, which is why, in line with longstanding emergency preparedness, resilience and response protocols, official communications are therefore always coordinated nationally," an NHS spokesperson said, according to The Independent.

"But staff continue to speak in a personal, trade union or professional body capacity, and it is self-evident from print and broadcast media coverage throughout this incident that staff are able and do in fact speak freely."

As of Tuesday, over 25,000 cases have been confirmed with the infection in the UK. British epidemiologist Neil Ferguson estimated on Monday that two to three percent of Britain's population, so many as two million people, may have been infected.

(With input from AP; Cover image via Reuters)