N95 particulate respirator masks are arranged for a photograph at a Dealmed-Park Surgical supply facility in Lakewood, New Jersey, U.S., on Wednesday, March 11. Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The cost of personal protective equipment is skyrocketing – more than 1,000% in some cases – as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

The federal government's Strategic National Stockpile has nearly emptied and states have been left to find PPE supplies on their own. The surge in demand has left importers, suppliers and purchasers scrambling. And price gouging has exacerbated the problem.

"The cost keeps rising and rising and rising, and there's no end in sight," said Michael Einhorn, CEO and President of Dealmed, a PPE distributor based in New York.

"You have a lot of that going on and that's not really a good thing. (The competition) really raises prices further. Now these companies have a right to charge more money and guess who's going to pay the higher price?" he added.

Einhorn buys his supply from China, where he built relationships with manufacturers – but he says that doesn't matter anymore with the novel coronavirus.

"It doesn't function that way," he said. "Anyone who wants to come in, places a bid. The royalty and relationships that existed for so many years, don't exist. What matters is the almighty dollar to these people."

The cost of PPE supplies has gone up more than 1,000%, according to a report published last week by the Society for Healthcare Organization Procurement Professional, a new nonprofit organization, founded by two companies that provide consulting, including on purchasing, to nursing homes.

These numbers put a clearer picture of the cost of what states have been complaining vocally about for weeks – that the lack of central control has severely driven up the price. The data was compiled by requesting cost information from more than 4,000 of the two companies' clients, which are skilled nursing facilities and assisted living centers.

More on this: The cost of N95 masks went up from $0.38 to $5.75 each (1,513% increase), the cost of vinyl exam gloves went from $0.02 to $0.06 (300% increase); and the cost of isolation gowns went from $0.25 to $5.00 (2000% increase), according to the report.

Reusable face shields that once went for $0.50 now are $4, up 900%, the report states.