N95 Mask Shipment Helps Los Angeles Build Stockpile

LOS ANGELES, CA — LA's ability to protect hundreds of thousands of first responders and healthcare workers in the coronavirus outbreak was greatly enhanced this week with the shipment of 100,000 N95 medical-grade masks. The shipment is the first of a 24 million mask order designed to help carry the city through the winter and a potential second wave of outbreaks.

The massive order takes advantage of the city's purchasing power and the Port of Los Angeles supply chain. The N95 masks were purchased at 79 cents plus tax each, according to the mayor. That's considerably less than the state paid in its massive order of masks during the early days of the pandemic.

"The city has incredible purchasing power, so we put that to use by buying in bulk at a low price point," Mayor Eric Garcetti said. "We were able to secure inventory ... for our hospitals that might not have had the connections we had, and they were struggling, when all the people who usually sell to them suddenly were being pulled in a thousand directions."

The next shipment in June will include 200,000 N95 masks and the shipment in July will contain 500,000, Garcetti said. A shipment by December could include as many as 1.2 million N95 masks.

Los Angeles was able to achieve the purchase through its Logistics Victory LA initiative, or LoVLA, which is working with Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka and the port's supply chain partners.

Seroka said the first shipment of masks is a "significant milestone" in providing adequate personal protective equipment to medical personnel.

"We're starting to build that Los Angeles stockpile that we've talked about before," Seroka said. "Working closely with the Hospital Association of Southern California and so many of our great public and private hospitals here in the Southland, the city of Los Angeles, specifically, now will be put to the next test to see how well" the masks can be distributed.

Garcetti also praised the Tony Royster, general manager of the General Services Department, for assisting with the acquisition of the masks.

City News service