Currently, the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States continues to worsen. The number of confirmed cases in California has surpassed New York on the 22nd, becoming the state with the largest number of confirmed cases in the United States. Under the severe epidemic situation, California has also experienced a huge gap in the supply of masks, but the domestic mask production capacity in the United States still cannot keep up.
According to a Bloomberg report on the 22nd, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced at the epidemic response press conference that day that he would renew a contract with China’s BYD Company to add 500 million masks that he had previously ordered. On this basis, an additional 420 million masks were ordered, of which 120 million were N95 masks and the remaining 300 million were medical surgical masks.
Previously, BYD had been embarrassed by U.S. federal agencies twice and failed to pass certification. Newsom also revealed at the time that BYD needed to return a deposit of US$247.5 million (approximately RMB 1.75 billion). In the end, BYD was certified in early June, and Newsom’s announcement of renewal also undermined BYD’s previous doubts.
Screenshot of Newsom’s video emphasizing the importance of masks at a press conference on the 22nd
Newsom Sen said at the epidemic press conference that California currently consumes 46 million masks per month, but more are needed, and domestic companies in the United States are still unable to meet such huge demand. To this end, he announced that he would continue his previous procurement strategy for personal protective equipment, specifically mentioning BYD.
He mentioned the previous cooperation between California and BYD: “One of the contracts (in the procurement of these personal protective equipment) was signed with (Chinese company) BYD, and we made a bold commitment to BYD. Hundreds of millions of surgical masks, as well as N95 masks, have been purchased. We will continue to maintain the continuous supply chain established in May and June, (which) can fully guarantee supply. Of the approximately 200 million surgical masks scheduled, 193 million have been Delivered.”
“We also purchased about 146 million N95 masks, and another 150 million are expected to arrive in the next few weeks. That contract included about 300 million N95 masks. …So in terms of procurement, we need bigger orders and continue to be bolder, and today we announced in a more formal way that California and BYD have renewed another contract for 120 million N95 masks and 300 million surgical masks.”
Newsom said that the California government has worked hard to bring more competitors into the bidding for personal protective equipment in order to lower prices. “But it’s still not up to the level it should be. That’s why we renewed the contract with BYD. Although there are many manufacturers in California and the United States, they just can’t provide supply services for such a large order.”
According to the renewed procurement contract announced by the California government, the new price of each N95 mask is US$2.13 (approximately RMB 14.9), which is lower than the US$3.3 (approximately RMB 23.1) in the previous contract; a single medical mask The price is US$0.2 (approximately RMB 1.4). Overall, the California government will pay $315 million to BYD in this contract.
It is worth mentioning that the mask contract between the California government and BYD has caused some controversy in the local area. After Newsom announced the contract with BYD on April 20 this year, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) twice unreasonably hindered BYD from providing California with “concerns about design, manufacturing, and quality inspection.” Face mask.
During the process, Newsom also revealed that because the N95 masks produced by BYD failed to obtain federal certification before April 30, BYD needs to return half of the deposit, which is US$247.5 million (approximately RMB), to California. 1.75 billion yuan). But Newsom also admitted that tens of millions of medical surgical masks have arrived in the United States, but failed to explain why N95 masks have not been certified.
After two extensions pushed by the California government, BYD finally obtained certification on June 8. Newsom issued a statement at the time, saying: “This newly arrived batch of N95 masks, as well as the surgical masks previously supplied by BYD to California, play a vital role in the state’s public safety and reopening strategy.”
Newsom’s statement at the press conference on the 22nd also dispelled previous US doubts about BYD.
According to data released by the California government, since the outbreak, the state has imported a total of 864 million N95 masks and nearly 300 million medical masks. However, Newsom admitted on the 22nd that the government did not reasonably provide these masks to the appropriate positions. “I want to ensure (later) that these masks can be delivered to front-line workers.”
As of the 22nd, the California government announced the use of masks
However, Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Emergency Services Division of the California Governor’s Office, did not provide information on the use of masks in New York. Mori Masks provides program details. At the same time, Carmela Coyle, president of the California Hospital Association, criticized the channels that California used to provide masks to various hospitals.��It’s very confusing. Many times, hospitals can only obtain masks with the help of regional coordinators when their PPE stocks are extremely low.
In addition, the local California media “Calmatters” reported that since the outbreak, the California government had purchased medical supplies from many unverified suppliers. In one case, California paid nearly $500 million in March to a company that had only been registered for three days to purchase 100 million N95 masks. But in the end the California government canceled the order and got the money back.
On the 22nd local time, California surpassed New York State and became the state with the largest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States. According to epidemic data from Johns Hopkins University, as of the morning of the 22nd local time, California had reported approximately 1,100 more confirmed cases than New York State.
Newsom revealed at noon that day that in the past 24 hours, California had 12,807 new confirmed cases, setting a record for the highest number of new cases in a single day since the outbreak, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases reached 413,576. cases, accounting for approximately one-tenth of the total number of confirmed cases in the United States.
California was one of the first states in the United States to detect the epidemic, and it was also the first region to implement a “stay-at-home order” in mid-March. However, as the epidemic prevention ban was gradually lifted in May, the number of confirmed cases, hospitalizations and deaths in California all increased significantly.
The “Washington Post” pointed out that cluster infections broke out in several prisons in California, which was one of the reasons for the spread of the epidemic. Mass gatherings in parts of the state have also triggered new infections. Although California issued a statewide mask mandate a month ago, at least five counties have refused to enforce it. </p
