In a move condemned as "modern piracy", the US has been accused by German government officials of redirecting 200,000 Germany-bound masks for its own use.

The city government in Berlin said that the consignment of US-made masks had been "confiscated" in Bangkok, though he did not say where they were passed into US hands

The FFP2 masks, which were ordered by Berlin's police force, did not reach their destination, it said.

Andreas Geisel, Berlin's interior minister, said the masks were presumably diverted to the US.

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The American company that makes the masks, 3M, has been prohibited from exporting its medical products to other countries under a Korean-War-era law invoked by Donald Trump.

Late on Friday, the US president announced that he was going to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to prevent the export of N95 masks, surgical gloves and other medical protective gear. He said exceptions might be made to help Italy and Spain, which have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Geisel said the diversion of masks from Berlin amounted to an "act of modern piracy", urging the Trump administration to adhere to international trading rules.

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He said US authorities had taken custody of nearly 200,000 N95 respirators, 130,000 surgical masks and 600,000 gloves. He did not say where they were taken into US hands.

"This is not how you deal with transatlantic partners," the minister said. "Even in these times of global crisis, there should be no wild-west methods."

Mr Geisel's comments echo the sentiments of other European officials, who have complained about the buying and diversion practices of the US.

In France, regional leaders have been reported as currently struggling to secure medical supplies as American buyers outbid them. The leader of the Ile-de-France region, Valerie Pecresse, compared the scramble for masks to a "treasure hunt".

"I found a stock of masks that was available and Americans - I'm not talking about the American government, but Americans - outbid us," Ms Pecresse said. "They offered three times the price and they proposed to pay up-front."

Elsewher, Turkey was yesterday accused by Madrid of seizing hundreds of ventilators and sanitary equipment destined for Spain. Spanish officials said Ankara was holding the ventilators for "the treatment of their own patients", despite local governments in Spain having already paid millions for them.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported the ventilators were manufactured in Turkey on behalf of a Spanish firm that bought the components from China. Earlier in the week, however, Spain had praised Turkey for sending medical aid to Spain and Italy.

The 3M company which makes the masks which the Trump government seized in Bangkok, argued that blocking exports from the US will raise "significant humanitarian implications" abroad and lead other countries to retaliate by withholding much-needed medical supplies from the US.

3M said it has raised US production of N95 masks from 22m in January to 35m in March, with the entire increase being distributed in the US. 3M said 10m N95 masks that it produced in China will be shipped to the US.

The company has traditionally exported about 6m masks a month to Canada and Latin America, where 3M is a primary supplier. 3M objected to stopping those exports.

Americans, almost all of them under orders to lockdown except for essential outings such as grocery shopping or seeing a doctor, have heard conflicting guidance in recent days about the need for wearing face masks in public.

At the White House last Friday, President Donald Trump seemed to muddy the waters further when he announced that federal health authorities are now recommending individuals wear cloth face coverings to stem transmission of the virus. But he stressed the advisory was purely voluntary, and that he would not be heeding the recommendation himself.

Elsewhere in the US - now the world leader in Covid-19 infections - two of the principal virus hot spots reported their biggest jumps in deaths yet. Surging deaths in New York City and New Orleans showed that a wave of lethal coronavirus infections expected to overwhelm hospitals, even in relatively affluent, urban areas with extensive healthcare systems, has begun to crash down on the US.

Governors, mayors and physicians have voiced alarm for weeks over crippling scarcities of personal protective gear for first-responders and front-line health- care workers, as well as ventilators and other medical supplies.

With Washington's strategic stockpile of such equipment nearly depleted, states have been forced essentially to compete against each other on the open market for vital resources. US cities have also scrambled to expand hospital capacity and recruit healthcare professionals out of retirement to meet looming shortages of beds and staff.

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Sunday Independent