San Francisco mayor says city's PPE orders have been diverted, confiscated: It 'blows my mind' [View all]
San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) said Friday that her citys orders for personal protection equipment (PPE) have been diverted to other U.S. cities and foreign countries.
Weve had issues of our orders being relocated by our suppliers in China, she said at a press conference. For example, we had isolation gowns on their way to San Francisco and they were diverted to France. Weve had situations when things weve ordered that have gone through Customs were confiscated by FEMA to be diverted to other locations.
We know everyone is dealing with a serious challenge," she continued. "Through Customs, weve had situations where those items have been taken and put out on the market for the highest bidder, putting cities against cities and states against states."
Breed said San Francisco has purchased 15 million pieces of PPE and received other tools from the federal government but still does not have the equipment necessary to adequately combat the coronavirus outbreak in the city.
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/494623-san-francisco-mayor-says-citys-ppe-orders-have-been-diverted-confiscated