The United States Conference of Mayors

Shortages of COVID-19
Emergency Equipment
in U.S. Cities
A Survey of the Nation’s Mayors
March 2020

 Bryan K. Barnett

Mayor of Rochester Hills, MI
President

Greg Fischer

Mayor of Louisville
Vice President

Nan Whaley

Mayor of Dayton
Second Vice President

Tom Cochran

CEO and Executive Director

The United States Conference of Mayors
is the official non-partisan organization
of cities with each city represented in the
Conference by its chief elected official,
the mayor.

 FOREWORD
Early in Congressional deliberations on the federal government’s initial response to the
growing COVID-19 threat to the nation, the U.S. Conference of Mayors communicated to
House and Senate leaders the importance of prioritizing the needs of cities as the crisis was
unfolding. The message: cities are going to be central to the nation’s response effort, and
federal resources directed to the local responders on the front line will be critical to
safeguarding our citizens.
On March 18, at the start of deliberations on a third emergency spending package, the
Conference submitted to Congressional leaders an urgent request for $250 billion in flexible
emergency fiscal assistance to cover a broad range of critical activities needed to stem the
spread of the virus and bolster city services and economies – a request individually endorsed
by more than 300 mayors.
With the virus expanding rapidly in cities across the country, protecting public health and
public safety are the most immediate and the highest priorities driving the Conference of
Mayors request for direct federal assistance. It is abundantly clear that the shortage of
essential items such as face masks, test kits, personal protective equipment, ventilators and
other items needed by health and safety personnel has reached crisis proportions in cities
across the country. The result is that the safety of city residents and the health workers and
first responders protecting them is being seriously compromised.
The survey described in this report illustrates the scope and severity of the need for COVID-19
emergency equipment in this nation’s cities. It shows that, despite their best efforts, most
cities do not have and cannot obtain adequate equipment and supplies needed to protect
their residents. This is a life-threatening crisis that will continue unless the federal
government does everything in its power to help us safeguard our first responders and health
care workers – our first line of defense – and the millions of other public servants in our cities
whose work today puts them at risk.

Tom Cochran
CEO & Executive Director
March 27, 2020

 THE SURVEY
To support its requests for emergency federal assistance for cities during the COVID-19 crisis,
the U.S. Conference of Mayors conducted a very brief, rapid-turnaround survey of cities (sent
to mayors late Friday, March 20 with a Tuesday, March 24 response deadline) intended to
document the magnitude of the need for vital protective equipment and supplies. Results of
the survey provide a timely snapshot of unmet needs confronting city leaders across the
nation today.
Responses to the survey were received from 213 cities across 41 states and Puerto Rico.
Populations of the cities range from under 2,000 to 3.8 million; six of the cities have
populations over one million; 45 have populations below 50,000. The survey cities together
are home to 42 million people.
Mayors and other officials in the cities responding provided information, to the extent it was
available to them, on whether adequate supplies of emergency equipment – specifically, face
masks, personal protective equipment (PPE), test kits and ventilators – were available for use
by medical personnel and first responders. For each category of equipment, they were asked
for estimates of quantities needed. They were also asked for examples of other types of
equipment needed, whether state governments or other sources have supplied any of the
needed equipment, and whether quantities supplied are adequate to meet needs. Survey
findings are calculated based on the number of cities that responded to the particular
question.

Survey Responses
Analyses of responses to the survey questions show the following:
• 91.5% (192) of the cities do not have an adequate supply of face masks for their first
responders (including police, fire, and EMTs) and medical personnel.
• 88.2% (186) do not have an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE)
other than face masks to protect these workers.
• 92.1% (186) do not have an adequate supply of test kits.
• 85% (164) do not have an adequate supply of ventilators for use by health facilities in
their city or area.
• 62.4% (131) have not received emergency equipment or supplies from their State.
• Of those receiving help from their State, 84.6% (66) say it is not adequate to meet their
needs.
For emergency equipment, analysis of these responses by city size found little variation from
largest to smallest cities in the percentages of adequacy of supplies. While a somewhat
higher percentage of larger cities reported receiving equipment and supplies from their State,
cities reporting inadequacy of these supplies did not vary by size.
2

 Across the survey cities able to provide estimates, needed are:
• 28.5 million face masks;
• 24.4 million PPE items;
• 7.9 million test kits; and
• 139,000 ventilators.

Personnel Affected
Virtually all of the survey respondents indicated that PPE items needed were for use by their
first responders, including police, fire and emergency medical, followed by hospital and other
health care personnel. But concerns about COVID-19 threats to personnel go well beyond
first responders, and most also identified other categories of personnel for whom masks were
needed. In general, these included personnel having direct contact with the public on a
regular basis. Examples included city workers employed in public transit, public works,
sanitation/solid waste, water/wastewater, code enforcement, building
inspection/maintenance, community services (including contact with homeless persons),
public housing, food distribution, corrections, elections, decontamination/cleanup,
childcare, and many other areas.

Detailed Needs
While the survey focused on just four categories of equipment as a measure of cities’
readiness to respond to COVID-19, respondents were invited to identify in greater detail the
equipment and supplies needed but not available in their areas. In addition to N95 and
surgical masks, their responses included PPE items such as eye protection, gowns, aprons,
gloves, shoe covers/booties, and Tyvek suits, as well as disinfectant sprays/wipes, hand
sanitizer, digital/no-touch thermometers, portable hospital beds, portable showers,
handwashing stations, anti-bacterial soap, bleach, food prep supplies, medical refuse bags,
and replacement filters for filtering devices.
City examples of needed quantities specified for many of these items include:
• Dayton – 200,000 N-95 masks; 150,000 pairs gloves; 150,000 eye protectors; 15,000 P100 PAPR filters; 15,000 coveralls; 100,000 digital thermometers; 175 hand sanitizers;
10,000 8-ounce, 5000 16-ounce disinfectant spray/cleaner; 15,000 tubs disinfectant
wipes; 15,000 Tyvek suits; 150,000 face shields; 15,000 packages anti-bacterial soap;
1,200 gallon-jugs viral swabs; 60,000 pairs shoe covers; 40,000 head covers; 20,000
disposable aprons; 1,000 gallons bleach
• Toledo – 100,000 gowns; 200,000 pairs gloves; 10,000 temporal thermometers; 50,000
tubs disinfecting wipes; 50,000 face shields; 60,000 CAPR/PAPR filters; 50,000 bottles
hand sanitizer

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Henderson – 40 cases hand sanitizer; 100 cases cleaning wipes; 50 thermometers; 100
respirators; 300 replacement filters
Bridgeport – 50,000 sanitizing wipes; 100,000 pairs latex gloves; 1,500 P100 masks.
Fairburn – 50,000 pairs plastic gloves; 50,000 protective suits; 50,000 thermometers;
50,000 hand sanitizers; 50,000 disinfectant wipes; 100,000 rolls toilet tissue; 100,000
boxes kleenex; 100,000 bottles over-the-counter fever reducers; 200,000 bottles water.
Meriden – 20,000 pairs gloves; 500 thermometers
Santa Barbara – For police and firefighter use alone: 4,000 N-95 masks, medical
gowns, pairs of safety glasses
Sugar Land – 3,000 pairs goggles; 3,000 pairs shoe covers
Davie –100 face shields, surgical masks, goggles, gowns; minimum 5,000 packages
equipment wipes, hand wipes; 1,000 canisters cleaning chemicals
Detroit – 18,000 surgical masks
Middletown – For its 93 police officers and 82 fire personnel: N95 masks, 200
thermometers; surgical masks and gowns; 400 oxygen delivery devices, especially
bag-valve-mask devices to deliver resuscitation. The City noted that its supply of
disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer spray will be gone in one week.

Supplies on Hand
Respondents who reported having an adequate supply of the emergency equipment or
supplies targeted by the survey were asked whether their supply had been on hand or had to
be obtained from other sources. The majority of the 40 cities responding to this question
indicated that their supplies had been on hand. Many of these said that they have had to
supplement their on-hand supplies through other sources or combinations of sources such as
other local governments, government organizations, hospitals, and private vendors. Five of
the cities said they expected their supplies on hand would quickly be depleted. Montgomery
noted that it received a Strategic National Stockpile delivery of expired masks approved by
the CDC/FDA; of these, 28 cases of 210 masks (5,880) were dry rotted.

4

 213 Survey Cities
Alabaster
Birmingham
Montgomery
Fayetteville
North Little Rock
Chandler
Goodyear
Mesa
Phoenix
Queen Creek
Tempe
Anaheim
Beverly Hills
Burbank
Campbell
Costa Mesa
Culver City
East Palo Alto
Folsom
Fontana
Glendora
Hanford
Hemet
Irvine
Livermore
Lodi
Long Beach
Los Angeles
Napa
National City
Norwalk
Oceanside
Palm Springs
Perris
Petaluma
San Diego
San Jacinto
San Luis Obispo
Santa Barbara
Santa Clara

AL
AL
AL
AR
AR
AZ
AZ
AZ
AZ
AZ
AZ
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA
CA

Santee
CA
South San Francisco CA
Stockton
CA
Suisun City
CA
Tracy
CA
Turlock
CA
Union City
CA
West
Sacramento
CA
Denver
CO
Lakewood
CO
Bridgeport
CT
Hartford
CT
Meriden
CT
West Hartford
CT
West Haven
CT
Wilmington
DE
Cape Coral
FL
Coral Springs
FL
Davie
FL
Deltona
FL
Doral
FL
Dunedin
FL
Largo
FL
North
Lauderdale
FL
Orlando
FL
Ormond Beach
FL
Palm Coast
FL
Parkland
FL
Pembroke Pines FL
Port St. Lucie
FL
Tamarac
FL
Tampa
FL
West Palm Beach FL
Atlanta
GA
Brookhaven
GA
Columbus
GA
Fairburn
GA
South Fulton
GA

Stonecrest
Honolulu
Kauai
Arlington
Heights
Bloomington
Calumet City
Champaign
Evanston
Glendale Heights
Hanover Park
Highland Park
Hoffman Estates
Joliet
Normal
Palatine
Peoria
Rockford
Sesser
Carmel
Fort Wayne
Gary
Kansas City
Olathe
Topeka
Frankfort
Louisville
New Orleans
Chicopee
Fall River
Framingham
New Bedford
Revere
Somerville
Springfield
Taunton
Weymouth
Baltimore
Somerset
Burton

GA
HI
HI
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IL
IN
IN
IN
KS
KS
KS
KY
KY
LA
MA
MA
MA
MA
MA
MA
MA
MA
MA
MD
MD
MI

 Detroit
Orion Township
Rochester Hills
Sterling Heights
Westland
Burnsville
Duluth
Eden Prairie
Edina
Minneapolis
Rochester
Independence
Kansas City
St. Louis
Great Falls
Missoula
Charlotte
Durham
Fayetteville
Raleigh
Winston-Salem
Lincoln
Brick Township
Elizabeth
Irvington
Jersey City
Kearny
Newark
Somerset
Trenton
Albuquerque
Clovis
Hobbs

MI
MI
MI
MI
MI
MN
MN
MN
MN
MN
MN
MO
MO
MO
MT
MT
NC
NC
NC
NC
NC
NE
NJ
NJ
NJ
NJ
NJ
NJ
NJ
NJ
NM
NM
NM

Santa Fe
Henderson
Las Vegas
Reno
Niagara Falls
Schenectady
Akron
Canton
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Columbus
Dayton
Gahanna
Lakewood
Lima
Lorain
Massillon
Middletown
Toledo
Broken Arrow
Moore
Oklahoma City
Tulsa
Gresham
Easton
Erie
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Guaynabo
Central Falls
Providence
Charleston
Columbia

NM
NV
NV
NV
NY
NY
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OK
OK
OK
OK
OR
PA
PA
PA
PA
PR
RI
RI
SC
SC

Sumter
Chattanooga
Beaumont
El Paso
Houston
McAllen
Port Arthur
San Antonio
Sugar Land
Midvale
Danville
Richmond
Auburn
Bellevue
Everett
Issaquah
Lacey
Pullman
Redmond
Tacoma
Vancouver
Yakima
Brookfield
Green Bay
Greenfield
La Crosse
Milwaukee
Racine
Huntington

SC
TN
TX
TX
TX
TX
TX
TX
TX
UT
VA
VA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WA
WI
WI
WI
WI
WI
WI
WV

 The Mayors’ 2020 Vision for America: A Call to Action, drafted by The U.S. Conference of Mayors, outlines 12 strategic
priorities that will improve the standard of living and quality of life for all U.S. residents in 2020 and beyond.
Our nation’s cities matter more today than ever before. Why? Because cities and their metropolitan areas dominate
U.S. economic growth and continue to drive our economy. It is simply impossible to maintain a healthy economy
without maintaining healthy cities.

•  Cities are the Center of the U.S. Population. They represent 86 percent of the
nation’s population and 91 percent of real gross domestic product (GDP).

•  Cities are Home to More Jobs and More Job Creation. The U.S. Metro/City share

of total employment increased to 88 percent in 2018, as metros added 2.1 million jobs,
accounting for 94 percent of all U.S. job gains.

•  Cities are Home to the Highest Share of Personal Income. The metro share of
U.S. total personal income stands at 89 percent and wage income at 92 percent.

•  Cities are the Incubators of Talent. The best and brightest talent is flocking to cities
because they prefer the accessibility, diversity, infrastructure and vibrancy that cities
provide, and they want to be where innovation thrives.

But despite the economic growth over the past 10 years, many residents still lack opportunity, fear for their safety,
and feel disconnected from their broader community and their country. These concerns extend to hardworking middle
class families who feel their economic security threatened.
The questions many Americans ask remain:

•  “What does the future of our country look like?”
•  “What’s the economic future of the middle class?
•  “How do we help lift up those living in poverty through education, skills and training?”
•  “How do we help workers transition to a new economy of technology, automation and innovation?”
•  “How do we make sure that a growing economy benefits all - including those most at-risk?”
•  “Will the next generation have a better quality of life than I did?”
Across our country, too many Americans feel forgotten or ignored. Too many have not benefited from the recovery,
are underemployed, or are saddled with student loan debt beyond their ability to pay. Economic forecasters project
that income inequality will remain a long-term problem that will worsen unless addressed through national leadership.
The challenges are serious, but solvable.

The United States Conference of Mayors: Supporting, Protecting
and Advocating for America’s Cities and Their Residents
CEO and
Executive
Director
As the leading voice of America’s cities,Tom
TheCochran,
U.S Conference
of Mayors
is uniquely
qualified to recommend a strategic
vision for America. Since its founding in 1932, the Conference remains the place where America’s mayors – Democrats,
1620inEye
Street, cooperative,
NW
Republicans, and Independents alike – come together
a collegial,
bipartisan manner to get things done.
Washington, DC 20006
Tel:all202.293.7330
The mayors of cities of all sizes, across all regions and
manner of demographic and socio-economic composition,

are working side-by-side to solve problems, improve conditions, and create and catalyze positive change for the
people we all serve.

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