$7M Of PPE Purchased By San Mateo County Damaged By Rainstorms

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — Around $7 million worth of personal protective equipment purchased by San Mateo County was damaged after being left outside in the San Mateo County Event Center during the recent rainstorms.

The boxes of items consisted of surplus safety equipment and cleaning supplies such as non-medical-grade isolation gowns, face shields, goggles, bleach and mop buckets and handles. The county admitted to the mistake after a report this week by ABC7 showed video of boxes upon boxes soaked by the rain.

“The County is solely responsible for our materials at the Event Center,” county officials said in a news release Friday afternoon. “We deeply regret that this occurred and are hiring an external investigator to identify all facts related to the damage and make recommendations to avoid future incidents.”

The equipment was purchased early in the pandemic, but went unused as demand for the supplies subsided as the pandemic went on. The boxes were then moved in mid-September to a fenced area outside the event center to make room for an event inside, according to the county. But the items were not returned inside following the event.

“It clearly is a mistake by the county,” County Manager Mike Callagy said to ABC7. “And ultimately I’m responsible for the county, so I take full responsibility for it. We are taking precautions to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

County officials said that the incident “did not impact the County’s ability to provide safety equipment to first responders and others responding to COVID-19.” The rain damaged outside packaging, but most of the supplies were individually wrapped, the county said. Other PPE such as masks and gloves were stored inside, according to the county.

The county plans to donate the undamaged supplies to a nonprofit. County officials also claimed that they tried to donate the surplus supplies to healthcare providers in the state, but “few accepted the offer because sizes, quantities, other considerations made them less appropriate.”

According to ABC7, county officials didn’t know that the items had been damaged until the news report.

However, as of Friday, the boxes could clearly be seen outside the event center on Google Maps.