Gov. Charlie Baker said Saturday that the federal government has provided the state with 100 ventilators and promised 100 more, but the total still falls far short of the 1,000 ventilators the state requested and thinks it needs to deal with coronavirus patients, so he is pushing for more.
"We're obviously going to continue to purse the full 1,000 that we believe we need," Baker said. "We're also pursuing a variety of private sector channels that I believe remain promising."
In general, Baker said, the pursuit of medical supplies and equipment is an ongoing struggle "all day, everyday."
Baker was speaking after touring the new facility in Somerville where Battelle will begin decontaminating N-95 masks for reuse, which Baker said would be a great way to address the extraordinary demand for masks -- but he said the state would continue to purchase new masks on the open market.
The Battelle project is operating under a federal grant so there will be no cost to the state or to hospitals sending masks for cleaning and reuse.
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