Pence requests construction companies to donate N95 masks amid coronavirus outbreak

The Trump administration has urged construction companies to donate their inventories of N95 masks to local hospitals and clinics, aiming to alleviate the shortages of face masks caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the Washington Examiner, this call comes following new legislation from Congress that changes the liability status of masks that are typically used in construction and manufacturing to be allowed for use in hospitals.

“We would make one specific request, and that is we would urge construction companies to donate their inventory of N95 masks to your local hospital and forego additional orders of those industrial masks,” says Vice President Mike Pence during a White House press conference March 17. “Because of what the president asked to be included in legislation moving through the Congress today, those industrial masks that they use on construction sites are perfectly acceptable for healthcare workers to be protected from a respiratory disease.”

While state and local officials usually rely on a federal stockpile, known as the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), for public health emergencies, the federal government has not maintained the stockpile’s more than 1,000 items at the fullest levels, the Washington Post reports.

On March 4, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its plans to purchase 500 million N95 respirators over the next 18 months for the SNS.

In the press release, the HHS says that this acquisition of respirators is part of a broader effort to maximize the availability of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers who are on the front lines in mitigating community spread of COVID-19.  

“At the president’s direction, we will continue to do whatever it takes,” says Pence. “We will continue to marshal the best of the American people, the best of all the people behind me, the people behind them, our state and local officials, and we will get through this, and we will get through this together.”