US states join forces to buy vital medical equipment to fight coronavirus pandemic

The deal was agreed by Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. The adjacent states have also agreed to share contact tracing data on coronavirus patients.

“This will make us more competitive in the international marketplace and save us money,” Andrew Cuomo, New York governor, said at a Sunday press conference.

Mr Cuomo has been open about the difficulties faced and the lack of protective equipment, as well as ventilators and testing kits.

He said doing commercial deals with companies and governments worldwide demanded a level of international experience most states on their own did not have.

New York buys about $2billion worth of medical equipment per year, Cuomo said.

The other states in the consortium together spend about $5 billion per year.

The seven states in the consortium expect to spend a combined budget of $5bn on medical supplies.

“It will make us more competitive in the international marketplace and I believe it will save taxpayers money,” Cuomo said.

“I also believe it will actually help us get the equipment, because we have trouble still getting the equipment.”

The group will aim to purchase from American manufacturers, and more ideally those within the seven states, that can ramp up production to meet demand over the next three months.

The states will coordinate with the federal government.

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“We’re planning for a next round of this, so we can control our own destiny,” Ned Lamont, governor of Connecticut, said during the call.

“We can work together to buy things that we need to allow our healthcare system to have the capacity it needs to fight this fight,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said.

Governors John Carney of Delaware and Ned Lamont of Connecticut also gave brief statements.

The news comes as Gov Cuomo announced 280 more statewide deaths from COVID-19.

The new figure is slightly down from the 299 deaths recorded in the state on Saturday.