American companies sold more medical equipment to China in January and February 2020 than any other time in the preceding decade, USA Today reports. U.S. businesses sold $17.5 million worth of face masks, $13.6 million in surgical garments, and $27.2 million worth of ventilators to China as the latter grappled with the initial outbreak of COVID-19, according to the story. The CDC reported the first confirmed case on American soil on Jan. 20, and the United States is now facing a dire shortage of protective equipment that has resulted in doctors taking desperate measures to avoid infection. The president has engaged in public confrontations over the lack of adequate ventilators.