Breed says SF's PPE orders have been diverted to France and 'confiscated' by FEMA

San Francisco Mayor London Breed (center) speaks during a press conference as San Francisco police chief William Scott (left) and San Francisco Department of Public Health director Dr. Grant Colfax look on at San Francisco City Hall on March 16, 2020 in San Francisco. less San Francisco Mayor London Breed (center) speaks during a press conference as San Francisco police chief William Scott (left) and San Francisco Department of Public Health director Dr. Grant Colfax look on at ... more Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Image 1 of / 114 Caption Close Breed says SF's PPE orders have been diverted to France and 'confiscated' by FEMA 1 / 114 Back to Gallery

San Francisco Mayor London Breed explained the city's difficulties in acquiring personal protective equipment for local hospitals in a press conference Friday, saying city officials' orders for gowns and other safety items have been diverted to other countries and U.S. cities.

San Francisco has successfully purchased 15 million pieces of PPE, and received others from the federal government or from companies like Flexport and Facebook, but it's not enough.

“We’ve had issues of our orders being relocated by our suppliers in China,” she said. “For example, we had isolation gowns on their way to San Francisco and they were diverted to France. We’ve had situations when things we’ve 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. Through Customs, we’ve 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's statement Friday echoed similar observations made by U.S. political leaders in recent weeks. She added that the fact she and other local and state governments are having to fight to secure PPE at this point of the coronavirus outbreak "blows my mind," but she nevertheless wanted residents to better understand why the process of buying such supplies has not been straightforward.

“We wanted to make sure as you hear about some of these challenges, you’re aware of why they are challenges," she continued. "I know it seems as though it should be a lot simpler: We have the money to purchase the PPE, why can’t we purchase the PPE?”

Breed's frustration is shared. Earlier this month, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized the current buying practices for acquiring such PPE and ventilators, saying U.S. states need a "nationwide buying consortium."

“You can't have the states competing against the states, and then by the way, when the federal government goes out to buy the same equipment for their stockpile, now it's 50 states competing against the states and the federal government competing against the states,” Cuomo said. “This is not the way to do business."

As a result of the bidding war, prices for necessary supplies are driven up — if such supplies are even available at all.

The process has forced the city of San Francisco to improvise. As Breed put it, "We are getting as creative as we can to get the resources to support our city."

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Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira

