Amazon Stops Sale of N95 Masks to Public

(Denis Charlet/AFP/Getty Images)

Amazon has stopped the sale of N95 masks to the public and said that it will only sell the items to government agencies and hospitals amid the CCP virus pandemic.

The Seattle-based retailer said it rolled out a new website section that is dedicated to supplies used in the fight against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, a coronavirus that causes COVID-19. A U.S.-accredited hospital, state agency, or federal agency can order masks, facial shields, gowns, gloves, and sanitizers.

An Amazon spokesperson said that it is “not accepting requests from individuals or non-qualified organizations at this time” and won’t make a profit from the orders, CNBC reported.

An Amazon spokesperson told the news outlet that the move is designed to ensure that the scarce number of medical supplies is reserved for hospitals and government agencies.

The general public will also not be able to buy COVID-19 diagnostic kits, according to a spokesman for the firm.

Wipes and relatively small-volume sanitizers will be still sold to the public, the chain also said.

In a notice to seller posted on its website, Amazon said it looking for sellers to supply medical products.

“You may have offers on one or more products (ASINs) that will now be available exclusively to hospitals and government organizations, which are in urgent need of high-demand medical products like N95 masks, surgical masks, facial shields, surgical gowns, surgical gloves, and large-volume sanitizers. Select ASINs of these product types will no longer be available to the broader public on Amazon.com and AmazonBusiness.com,” the website said.

It added: “For ASINs subject to this change, we have eliminated our standard referral fees through June 30, 2020, to encourage our selling partners to make additional inventory of these products available at competitive prices to these customers with the greatest need.”