Target Apologizes For Selling Face Masks Amid National Shortage

(SEATTLE) — Target Corp. apologized over the weekend for selling face masks in Seattle stores while hospitals face a dire shortage amid a growing coronavirus outbreak.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said his office intervened when it received reports Saturday that the much-needed N95 masks were on Target shelves. “Those masks are now on their way to the health care workers who desperately need them,” Inslee wrote on Twitter.

Tall stacks of N95 masks @Target in Seattle, despite a shortage at hospitals. #CoronavirusPandemic pic.twitter.com/YJy0wsJjjy

— Ann Dornfeld (@anndornfeld) March 21, 2020

Target said on Twitter that the masks were being sold in error in “select Seattle stores” and that it was removing them from shelves and donating them to the Washington Department of Health. The company said it would also search its inventory for additional masks to donate.

“Target’s commitment to communities is unwavering & we apologize,” the company wrote.

Read more: There Aren’t Enough Medical Masks to Fight Coronavirus. Here’s Why It’s Not Going to Get Better Anytime Soon

Hospitals have run so short of the masks and other personal protection equipment that they’ve had to ration them, sometimes giving doctors or nurses just one per shift and forcing them to wash them out between patients.

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Contributor: Associated Press