California Governor Gavin Newsom said the state received “170 broken ventilators” from the federal government’s national stockpile in a press conference over the weekend. Many states have been experiencing a shortage of ventilators — a life-saving piece of equipment used to help treat coronavirus patients.
Newsom explained on Saturday that the ventilators came from the national stockpile “directly” to Los Angeles County. But, “rather than lamenting about it, rather than complaining about it, rather than pointing fingers, rather than generating headlines in order to generate more stress and anxiety,” Newsom said the machines are being fixed in-state.
The machines were brought by truck to a facility operated by green energy company Bloom Energy, according to a press release from Newsom’s office. Newsom said the machines were dropped off at 8 a.m. Saturday and will be “back into Los Angeles all fixed” by Monday.
“That’s the spirit of California. That’s the spirit of this moment,” said Newsom in the video, which he posted to Twitter. “Take responsibility. Take ownership and take it upon ourselves to meet this moment head on.”
Bloom Energy had previously transformed its Silicon Valley production facility into a “ventilator refurbishing site” through a “partnership” with California, according to the release. It refurbished 80 ventilators Friday and expected to refurbish 120 more on Saturday, the same day Newsom toured the site.
At the “onset of the pandemic,” the Golden State possessed some 7,500 ventilators throughout its hospital systems and set a goal of adding 10,000 more, according to the release. As of Saturday, California had acquired 4,252 additional ventilators — 1,000 of which need refurbishing.
California, America’s most populous state, has already been hit hard by the coronavirus — with health officials predicting LA could face a crisis on-par with the country’s COVID-19 epicenter, New York.
Governors across the country are requesting additional ventilators for COVID-19 patients, as health care workers report a shortage of the life-saving equipment, among other supplies. Late last week, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to require General Motors to produce ventilators.
There are more than 142,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., with more than 2,400 reported deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. America currently has more confirmed coronavirus cases than anywhere else in the world.
