SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — Despite emerging indications efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus are working, California Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said the state will continue its $1 billion quest to scour the world for medical supplies.
In recent weeks, California has bypassed the alarmingly deficient national stockpile and used its budget reserves to buy wholesale directly from China and other countries. Newsom said the state has secured a deal for 200 million N95 and surgical masks per month until the crisis subsides.
“We have been doing our part over the course of the last number of weeks to punch above our weight,” Newsom said during a daily briefing.
Wednesday’s briefing followed an appearance on MSNBC where Newsom announced the mammoth deal for masks, which will be handed out to the state’s health care workers and other essential employees like grocery store cashiers.
Newsom, who often refers to California as a “nation state,” said the deal reflects the state’s extraordinary buying power and will help stabilize the medical supply chain for the foreseeable future. The mask haul will cost nearly $500 million and the governor has asked the Legislature to dedicate $1.4 billion in total for medical equipment.
“That’s not an insignificant amount of money, but we’re dealing at a time where we need to go boldly and we need to meet this moment without playing small ball any longer,” Newsom told reporters.
California has certainly been hit hard by the virus with over 17,000 cases and 442 deaths as of Wednesday, but its rosy reserves have positioned Newsom and lawmakers to act boldly and swiftly over the last month.
Prior to the pandemic, Newsom was plotting the next state budget with a record-breaking $21.5 billion surplus built on an extended period of economic growth and the fiscal shrewdness of his predecessor, Governor Jerry Brown. While the ambitious January budget proposal has been torn to pieces, the surplus has granted Newsom the opportunity to guide the state’s emergency response without penny pinching.
Along with the push for protective equipment, the former mayor of San Francisco has dished out $150 million to help house homeless residents, $42 million directly to prepare hospitals for patient surge, a $50 million small business loan program and nearly $10 million to reimburse counties for their early inmate release efforts.
The multifaceted response, including the nation’s first statewide stay-at-home order, has quickly transformed California from the first state with a documented case of community spread to role of helper and distributor.
“We have heard from other governors and it’s been quite favorable because they understand we are helping increase supply, not taking away a limited number of supplies,” Newsom said.
Newsom applauded the “heroic” efforts of the state’s National Guard and said Wednesday that crews were delivering hundreds of ventilators to states like New York, Illinois, Maryland and Nevada. Crews are also performing volunteer and wildfire prevention in California after being activated by Newsom in March.
The Democratic governor said as California continues to stockpile its own supplies, it does so with the intention of sharing when possible.
“As we scale up, as these supplies arrive, as we see more certainty, we’ll be in much better position to help support the efforts of others,” Newsom said.
Asked whether the enormous procurement effort was an indictment of the Trump administration’s pandemic response, Newsom once again shunned an opportunity to criticize the president. Newsom said California is working “hand in glove” with the federal government and that the monthly deal for masks was not political or an attempt to usurp authority.
Optimism is growing following lowered death projections in recent models used by Newsom’s administration and the feds, but Newsom urged the state’s nearly 40 million residents to remain inside on Easter weekend — in spite of a forecast of glorious weather statewide.
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