French regional officials have accused the U.S. of snapping up masks that were meant for France straight from the tarmac of a Chinese airport, as countries scramble to get much-needed personal protective equipment against the raging COVID-19 epidemic. The U.S. has denied the allegations.

President of the Grand Est region in northeastern France, Jean Rottner, told French media RTL: "Americans take out cash on the tarmac and pay three or four times for the orders we made."

"We are fighting 24 hours a day" to get masks delivered, he added.

These comments followed earlier revelations by another regional president, Renaud Muselier, who said a colleague saw his order "snatched at the airport" by Americans who paid cash for the shipment. Muselier however refused to name the colleague or say how many masks were meant to be delivered.

The U.S. has denied the claims: "The United States government has not purchased any masks intended for delivery from China to France," an unnamed senior administration official told Fox News on Thursday. "Reports to the contrary are completely false."

France has seen close to 60,000 cases of COVID-19 so far, with over 5,300 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S., meanwhile has the most cases worldwide – 245,000 – with New York City alone registering over 1,560 deaths.

On Thursday, the French newspaper Liberation quoted another regional official explaining the current rush for medical gear.

"Masks are becoming a rare commodity. The Americans buy them anywhere they can find them, regardless of the price."

Several regions, contacted by Franceinfo, noted however that their orders were on their way or were expected to be delivered in due course. This included orders for two million masks each for Corsica and Normandy.

The Grand Est region meanwhile received a first shipment of two million masks – out of a total five million it ordered – early Wednesday. 

The orders by individual French regions come on top of those made by the French government for additional protective gear.