Los Angeles will receive 24 million N95 medical-grade masks for hospital workers and first responders under an agreement with the technology company Honeywell to assist their work addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Tuesday.
The masks will cost 79 cents each and the city will sell them to hospitals at-cost, plus sales tax, Garcetti said during his daily coronavirus briefing.
City officials have seen N95 masks advertised for as much as $13 and some of them are imported, Garcetti said.
Garcetti said he hopes the costs for the masks will be reimbursed by the federal government and the sales tax on the masks will be waived by the state government.
The masks meet “the N95 highest standard,” Garcetti said.
“It’s manufactured in the United States and we’re going to pass it on at-cost to hospitals,” Garcetti said. “We won’t make a single buck, and we’ll take care of whatever cost of getting them that we have.”
Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka, who has been chosen by Garcetti to be the city’s chief logistics officer during the pandemic, said he has been working with companies to procure masks and additional medical supplies.
Seroka said the city has the ability to bring in masks at an hourly rate, as production is done within Los Angeles.
“… We know exactly how much product we are going to receive, at a minimum and when,” Seroka said.
“That in turn will give our first responders, hospitals and frontline medical workers the understanding of how this product is going to come to them and help them in their daily lives.”
Seroka said through the Logistics Victory initiative, the city is focusing on obtaining medical products. Hospitals and manufacturers can visit lovla.org for more information on how to apply for equipment or to donate.
Garcetti also spoke about opportunities for people to open a banking or credit union account online through Los Angeles County’s BankOn initiative.
People who don’t have an account may not have received their first federal economic stimulus payment, Garcetti said.
“Unfortunately, too many Americans and too many Angelenos don’t have a bank account,” Garcetti said.
“That means they can’t get a direct deposit to the money that they’re entitled to, and it’s taking too long to receive payments that they deserve and that they need right now. This speaks to a painful, unjust reality at the heart of our economic system that predates this current crisis.”
For people who don’t have an account or need more information, BankOn initiative representatives will guide them through the process, Garcetti said.
People without bank accounts can find more information on the programs at corona-virus.la/banking.