Apr 7, 2020 - Health

California expects delivery of over 200 million masks

Orion Rummler

In this image, a man stacks boxes while a woman wearing a face mask watches — Michael Straumietis delivers donated masks to the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California on April 7. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is confident that more than 150 million N95 masks and over 50 million surgical masks will be delivered to the state "at a monthly basis starting in the next few weeks," he said Tuesday on MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Show.

The big picture: States, hospitals and the federal government are trying to make existing medical supplies last while they desperately try to find more equipment.

What he's saying: "The state of California has distributed 41 million N95 masks ... we've received just over 1 million from the federal government. It's not an indictment, it's not a cheap shot, at the end of the day, they don't have the masks at the national stockpile," Newsom told Maddow.

Newsom said that he's confident the incoming shipment of masks can meet California's needs and "potentially the needs of other western states."

Details: The masks will be manufactured "overseas" and were sourced through a California manufacturer "with appropriate contacts in Asia" and multiple nonprofits, Newsom said.

Background: California has shipped hundreds of ventilators to several states experiencing hot spots of the novel coronavirus, including New York and New Jersey, Newsom tweeted on Tuesday.

Go deeper: The push to multiply limited medical supplies

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California expects delivery of over 200 million masks

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