New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced a joint purchasing agreement along with six other nearby states to purchase personal protective equipment amid the coronavirus.
New York – in a coalition with New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts – will be able to be more competitive in the international marketplace when buying PPE, ventilators, tests and other medical equipment. Cuomo said the regional consortium will also help prevent price gouging, in hopes of spending less taxpayer dollars.
During a press conference on Sunday, Cuomo thanked the states for being so supportive to New York, which has been the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. He said they truly have acted like neighbors when it comes to supplies such as gowns and masks.
"You'd knock on the door and say, 'Can I borrow this?' That's how these states responded and it was really a beautiful, generous way of operating that was an inspiration to me. You know, it wasn't, 'I'll have my lawyer call your lawyer.' It was, 'Whatever I can do, I'll do.'"
Cuomo also said the state is requiring all 196 hospitals to have a sufficient supply of PPE to last over the course of 90 days should there be another surge of COVID-19 cases.
