We have locked up our extra supplies (including hand sanitizer and PPE) as patients have been taking them. Is this an acceptable practice?
This is an acceptable practice, provided you are keeping hand sanitizer and masks available for those who need them—including patients who screen positive for COVID-19 and staff who care for these patients. To minimize overuse, discourage unnecessary use of masks. You could request all visitors and patients wear a cloth face covering to conserve the mask for healthcare workers. The CDC has provided Strategies to Optimize the Supply of PPE and Other Equipment.
All Curi recommendations are based on current CDC criteria at the time of publication. CDC guidance for SARS-CoV-2 infection may, or may not, be adopted by state and local health departments to respond to rapidly changing local circumstances. Providers should always check with their local health department to see if the CDC’s guidance on any given topic has been modified (particularly if more restrictive) from the CDC’s recommended guidelines. Follow this link https://www.cdc.gov/publichealthgateway/healthdirectories/index.html for contact information to your state/local health department. If local recommendations vary from those of the CDC, and you are unsure what recommendations to follow, then it is safer to follow the more restrictive guidelines/recommendations.