California seeks to bolster its strategic stockpile of protective masks to guarantee the shortcomings exposed by the COVID-19 outbreak never happen again, and as part of that, the state has signed a new contract with BYD North America for 420 million masks.
That order includes 120 million N-95 respirators and 300 million surgical masks. Time is also a factor, though, with COVID-19 cases rising, so the Department of Public Health and Office of Emergency Services have been tapped to increase the stockpile by 100 million N-95 respirators and 200 million surgical masks by early fall at the latest.
“Providing front-line workers the protective equipment they need is critical to our state’s response to COVID-19,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “Securing a reliable supply chain of PPE allows us to distribute millions of protective masks to our essential workforce while preserving millions more in our state’s stockpile for future use.”
This, California hopes, will go a long way toward security and stability for a supply chain that has proven anything but over the course of the pandemic. The state wants to mix short and long-term strategies for future supply guarantees. So far, it has distributed 86.4 million N-95 respirators and 297 million surgical masks to front line operations, including hospitals, emergency responders, farm and factory workers, and nursing home workers.
The contract with BYD — a California-based company — is a bridge contract. California is also looking to create a leveraged master procurement for any interested manufacturers. Purchasers within the state would therein be able to secure supplies at competitive prices.