Fox News has learned that the FBI discovered the supplies last week in New Jersey during an enforcement operation by the Justice Department’s COVID-19 Hoarding and Price Gouging Task Force and alerted HHS. HHS IMPLEMENTS ANTI-PRICE GOUGING ORDER AMID CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAKUnder the Defense Production Act, HHS ordered that the supplies be immediately given to the government. In addition to the 192,000 N95 respirator masks, the FBI found 598,000 medical-grade gloves and 130,000 surgical masks, procedure masks, N100 masks, surgical gowns, disinfectant towels, particulate filters, bottles of hand sanitizer and bottles of spray disinfectant. After inspecting the supplies, HHS arranged for the delivery of the PPE (personal protective equipment) to the New Jersey Department of Health, the New York State Department of Health and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. As of Thursday morning, the U.S. reported more than 216,722 positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 5,137 deaths.

Source: Fox News April 02, 2020 14:37 UTC