Seven boxes of medical-grade isolation masks, 20 bottles of hand sanitizer, 10 containers of soap, eight bottles of air deodorizer, six packages of bleach wipes, and 50 tubs of Sani-wipes were recently stolen from an Indiana hospital - along with some morphine, according to an article on the Quartz website.
“These items are highly sought after in the secondary market due to shortages resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic and that these types of items are being sold on the secondary market at an increased price well over fair market value,” DEA task force officer Jason Homan said in a criminal complaint filed in Indiana federal court.
The theft of personal protective equipment is a recent phenomenon.
Police arrested a housekeeping employee at an Arizona hospital earlier this month for allegedly swiping gloves, hand sanitizer, surgical scrubs, paper towels, face masks, bleach, and toilet paper. In Florida, police busted a physician’s assistant after hospital workers spotted him loading large amounts of PPE into his Jaguar XF.
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