Why did Facebook have an "emergency reserve" of 720,000 masks?

[Rorey]

9. The same reason that I am stocked up on certain items

I'm always stocked up on certain items in case, for whatever reason, something happens. FB shouldn't be faulted for this, IMO.

For instance, I have enough tp. I didn't go out and swoop it up when people were scrambling for it. I already had it. When there are sales on non-perishable goods that I use, I stock up. At this point I won't buy any tp, even if I came across some, because others need it.

This morning I went and picked up some reusable face masks that I found on craigslist, made locally. I asked the person I bought them from if she was getting a lot of orders, and she said she wasn't getting that many yet. I'm going to try out the ones I got, and decide which I like best, and then will order more from her. I can use these during the few times I need to go out in the coming weeks/months, and I can also use them when wildfire time hits. I also do various home improvement things where a mask is a good idea, so they're good to have on hand. I'm not undercutting anyone by buying them now, while they're not yet in high demand from her. If she said she couldn't keep up with orders, I'd make do with the few that I've bought so far.

BTW, this nice woman gives away masks to vulnerable people, and those in the medical field. She uses the profits from the ones she sells to buy materials for those she gives away.