紐約市出現口罩黑市，N95口罩價格翻15倍

A New York City pharmacist is under investigation for “exploiting the present Covid-19 pandemic and engaging in price gouging,” according to a search warrant application unsealed earlier this week in federal court.
本週早些時候，聯邦法院公佈了一份搜查令申請，要調查一位紐約市的藥劑師，因其“利用當前的新冠疫情牟利，涉嫌哄擡物價”。
In early April, says the government filing, an informant contacted Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, with a tip that the retail pharmacist, Richard Schirripa, was selling personal protective equipment, or PPE, to New Yorkers at up to 15 times the regular price.
政府文件中說，4月初，一位舉報者聯繫國土安全調查局，就是美國國土安全部的調查機構，說零售藥店的藥劑師Richard Schirripa正在向紐約市民出售個人防護用品，價格是平時的15倍之多。
Some weeks earlier, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) had established anti-hoarding measures for various “scarce” materials during the coronavirus pandemic. The list included, among other things, medical-grade PPE such as N95 respirator masks meant for doctors, nurses, and first responders. Around the same time, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a task force that would combat hoarding and price gouging.
幾周前美國衛生與公衆服務部出臺了針對新冠疫情期間各種“短缺”物資的反囤積措施。物資清單中包括醫療級個人防護用品，如醫生、護士和急救人員用的N95口罩。同時美國司法部宣佈組建工作隊打擊囤積和哄擡物價的行爲。
Since then, New York City has become the pandemic’s epicenter, with more than 6,000 coronavirus-related deaths to date. Healthcare workers in the city have struggled to source enough PPE, resorting to reusing disposable face masks and wearing garbage bags for protection. This past Friday, N95 manufacturer 3M filed a federal lawsuit against a New Jersey company it says tried to sell the masks for six times the usual amount.
從那以後，紐約市就成爲了疫情中心區，目前已有超過6,000新冠死亡病例。該市的醫護人員防護用品不足，只能重複使用口罩，身穿垃圾袋進行防護。上週五，N95口罩的生產商3M公司對一家新澤西州的公司提起聯邦訴訟，稱該公司這些口罩的售價是平常的六倍。
On April 4, 2020, an undercover HSI agent called Schirripa and asked about buying face masks. According to the warrant application, Schirripa told the “customer” he was selling surgical-grade N95 masks for $22 each, and commercial-grade N95 masks for $15. They both typically retail for less than $1.50 apiece.
2020年4月4日，一家國土安全調查局祕密機構打電話給Schirripa，詢問買口罩的事。搜查令中說，Schirripa告訴“顧客”他在賣的外科N95口罩售價爲每個22美元，工業級的N95口罩售價爲每個15美元，這兩類口罩平時的零售單價都不到1.5美元。
“[W]hen you have something no one else has, it’s not a high price,” Schirripa explained, adding that his masks were expensive because “you can’t get them.”
Schirripa解釋說：“你有的東西別人沒有，就不算高價。”他還補充說他的口罩貴是因爲“你們弄不到”。