U.S. officials redistribute protective gear seized from alleged hoarder
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS APRIL 2, 2020 / 2:58 PM / UPDATED AN HOUR AGO
U.S. officials redistribute protective gear seized from alleged hoarder
Mark Hosenball
3 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials said on Thursday they would distribute a stockpile of personal protective equipment, including 192,000 N95 respirator masks, which they seized this week from an alleged hoarder.
The departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) said the equipment had been seized by a task force set up to crack down on coronavirus-related hoarding and price gouging.
The material included 130,000 surgical masks, 598,000 medical grade gloves, surgical gowns, disinfectant towels and bottles of hand sanitizer and spray disinfectant.
It will be distributed to health authorities in New York and New Jersey, the U.S. epicenter of a pandemic that has so far killed nearly 5,000 Americans.
Local officials have been scrambling to secure protective gear, which is in short supply. An emergency stockpile maintained by the U.S. government has been nearly exhausted.
-snip-
Read more:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-gouging/u-s-officials-redistribute-protective-gear-seized-from-alleged-hoarder-idUSKBN21K34F