LONDONDERRY, N.H. — New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu welcomed a FedEx plane from China Sunday as it brought 91,000 pounds of medical supplies to combat COVID-19 in the Granite State.
The shipment includes 6.6 million masks and 50,000 face shields, according to the governor’s office.
The National Guard helped unload the plane and organize the personal protective equipment Sunday afternoon before loading it onto trucks to distribute it across the state.
“We’re doing it on an at-need basis, everybody needs something, no one’s out, but everyone needs something because as good as we’ve seen some numbers come in, we’ve seen a bit of a plateau,” said Governor Sununu. “We are in this for the long haul, we’re in this for months and months likely.”
Governor Sununu says while most of the PPE will go to hospitals and healthcare workers who need it most, they will also distribute these medical supplies to others who need protection from the virus.
“There’s also a lot of folks who are in the private, non-profit sector who will get a lot of these masks, such as folks who work one on one with special services, Medicaid services, developmentally disabled services,” said Governor Sununu. “So folks feel more comfortable working one on one in other folks’ homes.”
Governor Sununu says some of this PPE could also go to other states in New England, as needed. He says this is just the beginning since they’ll likely need more in the coming months as the virus quickly spreads.
“So as big as these shipments are you’d think they would last us a year,” said Governor Sununu. “They won’t because the burn rate is so high, especially when you’re dealing with a viral spread that is so contagious.”