On a joint news conference Sunday afternoon, Govs. Ned Lamont, Andrew Cuomo, Phil Murphy, and others said they would work together to procure PPE, COVID-19 tests, ventilators and other items.
The consortium includes New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The governors say the aim is to increase market power and bring down prices.
In the news conference, Cuomo said states bidding against each other for supplies drove up prices through competition. He said believes the issues posed by acquiring medical supplies constitutes a national security concern, noting in particular that the U.S. had to turn to China to acquire supplies to save American lives.
The Northeast states have previously announced they're working together on reopening and easing restrictions
BRIEFING NOTES:
-Gov. Cuomo gave an update on health indicators, including hospitalizations and fatalities. Hospitalizations continue to go down, and are under 10,000. Intubations are also down.
-The number of new cases in New York is 789, and "that's good news," says Cuomo.
-280 lives were lost in the past 24 hours. Cuomo says it's "incredibly distressing" but the "overall direction is good, even though it's very painful."
-Cuomo says it's important that we are learning from the measures we are implementing in this unprecedented crisis.
-The governor discussed a CDC report released May 1 on the coronavirus outbreak, including how the timing of travel alerts issued earlier this year let the virus spread. An outbreak in one places quickly becomes an outbreak everywhere, Cuomo says. A travel ban on China did not slow the spread of cases coming to the East Coast from Italy and elsewhere in Europe.
-Another lesson to learn is the implications on the health care system, Cuomo says. Equipment shortages, limitations of public health systems, and other issues must be addressed.
-Cuomo says the state Dept. of Health will require hospitals to build a 90-day supply of PPE to be ready in the event of another surge in cases.
-Another issue is the problems encountered as states and entities competed in acquiring PPE equipment. He says it drove up prices and contributed to the crisis.
-Cuomo announced a "regional state purchasing consortium" that covers seven states to purchase standard items together, including masks, gowns, and other items. The consortium includes New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware and Pennsylvania. The aim is to increase market power and bring down prices.
-Cuomo was joined virtually by several of the governors to speak about the consortium.
PHOTOS: Countries around the word cope with COVID-19:
- Virus Outbreak Brazil | Cemetery workers in protective clothing carry the coffin containing the remains of a person suspected to have died of COVID 19 AP Photo Andre Penner
- An Indian policeman walks past an art work displayed on road urging people to stay home during lockdown to prevent the spread of new coronavirus in Hyderabad, India. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
- A woman wearing a protection mask to protect against coronavirus walks over Westminster Bridge in London. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
- A man holds a flag as he attends a rally to protest stay-at-home orders put into place due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
- A passenger wearing a mask enters the St. George Ferry Terminal, Tuesday, April 21, 2020, to take the Staten Island Ferry to Manhattan. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
- Passengers disembark the Staten Island Ferry, Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
- Matt Thacker sprays sanitizer as he cleans a shuttle bus, used by Boeing at its massive production plant, which can usually carry nearly two dozen workers but is taped off to seat just five. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
- A group of emergency medical technicians who have come to New York to assist ambulance crews during the coronavirus pandemic ride the Staten Island Ferry, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
- Keeper Carla Cutino works with Ady the sea lion at the Denver Zoo Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Denver. The zoo has been closed to the public because of the new coronavirus since March 17. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
- A woman, wearing a protective face mask, waits her turn at a soup kitchen during a government-ordered lockdown to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
- A woman mourns at the site of a mass burial at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)
- Relatives mourn at the site of a mass burial at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil, Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros)
- Harris Ho, left, hands over a teriyaki order at his family's Happy Tummy Grill to Boeing shuttle driver Fred Olander near a Boeing production plant Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
- A person holds a sign while gathering with others to protest stay-at-home orders put into place due to the COVID-19 outbreak in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
- Nurses field questions from the media after a drive-by protest outside of Providence Saint John's Health Center Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
- Nurse Micheal Gulick wears a mask as he prepares to participate in a drive-by protest outside of Providence Saint John's Health Center Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
- Nurses Allison Mayol, left, and Glory Forrest make sings to participate in a drive-by protest outside of Providence Saint John's Health Center Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
- A protester wears a Donald Trump mask as he gives a thumbs up to a procession of vehicles participating in a drive-by protest outside of Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
- A protester holds a sign reading Protect Frontline Nurses during a drive-by demonstration outside of Providence Saint John's Health Center Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
- As cars stack up, a sign alerts motorists to keep their masks on at a drive-in COVID-19 testing facility in Lowell, Mass., Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
- A technician passes a test kit to a motorist at a drive-in COVID-19 testing facility in Lowell, Mass., Tuesday, April 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)