Thread by @TexasTribune

Breaking: A Texas-based industrial supplier tried to broker a sale of up to 2 million protective medical masks at six times the usual price.

Critics say a price like that at a time like this smacks of profiteering and price gouging. bit.ly/3bHRkHE

2/ Industrial supplier Hatfield and Company said it did not mark up the product ‘excessively’ nor engage in price gouging.

They said their own supplier set the “terms and conditions” for the sale.

They would not identify the supplier. bit.ly/3bHRkHE

3/ A company salesperson said a "group of doctors" has the masks spread around locations in Texas and other states, but did not elaborate.

The company president said he had "no way of knowing ... the veracity” of that claim. bit.ly/3bHRkHE

4/ Demand for protective equipment like masks has soared since the outbreak began, exacerbated by the disruption of overseas supply chains and a flood of purchases from panicked civilians. bit.ly/3bHRkHE

5/ Health care professionals are desperate for these face masks.

They filter out at least 95% of airborne particles, and protect sick people and medical workers during the novel coronavirus pandemic. bit.ly/3bHRkHE

6/ Across the state, the race is on to make and manufacture personal protective equipment in Texas before supplies run out for those on the front lines of the coronavirus outbreak. bit.ly/2QZ26RU

7/ Federal health authorities said in early March that the United States had a tiny fraction of the billions of masks that would be needed for a pandemic that lasts a year or more. bit.ly/2QZ26RU

8/8 Read more here. bit.ly/3bHRkHE