The European Commission says a call for personal protective equipment has exceeded the quantities requested in some cases.

The joint procurement was launched to address the coronavirus crisis.

It says producers made offers "covering and in some cases even exceeding" the numbers requested by member states for every single item.

The procurement covers masks, gloves, goggles, face-shields, surgical masks and overalls.

The commission says: "This provides reassurance that hospitals, healthcare professionals, care homes and people that need it will have the necessary equipment to protect them from the virus and to limit its spread."

The equipment should be available two weeks after the member states sign the contracts with the bidders, which the commission says they should do "very rapidly."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says: "All over the world, there's right now a tremendous need for protective clothing and medical equipment.

"It is therefore a success that the Joint European Procurement Initiative has been able to secure on the world market concrete offers of considerable scale on shortest notice.

"This is EU solidarity in action. It shows that being part of the union pays off.

"This material should soon provide considerable relief in Italy, Spain and in 23 more member states."

Some 25 member states take part in this joint procurement, including Ireland.

The offers are being evaluated and contracts are expected to be signed in the coming days.

The procurement for most equipment was launched a week ago, on March 17th, while a call for masks was initially made on February 28th.

Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, in charge of health, says: "I welcome the very good results delivered by our EU joint procurement.

"Our priority is to ensure that those who are working around the clock to keep us protected and save lives - our healthcare professionals - have the necessary protective equipment.

"The offers we have received respond positively to the requests of member states for lifesaving equipment such as masks, glove and overalls.

"This essential material will soon be delivered to those in need. Together, we will win this fight."

Last week the commission announced plans to create a €50m stockpile of medical equipment.

Equipment part of the stockpile will include items such as ventilators, reusable masks, vaccines, therapeutics and laboratory supplies.

The stockpile will be hosted by one or several EU states, who will be responsible for procuring the equipment.

The commission will finance 90% of the stockpile.