WCBC

April 2nd, 2020 by WCBC Radio

WBAL reports  Maryland has received only a fraction of the medical supplies the state has requested from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to data released Thursday by the House Oversight Committee.

As of Monday, the state had requested 15,000 body bags, 100,000 nasopharyngeal swabs, 500 goggles, 50,000 viral transport media and 100,000 aprons, and received none.

The numbers of face shields, face masks, gloves, N95 respirators and ventilators received are far below the numbers requested by state officials.

“The President must act immediately to take all steps within his authority to get personal protective equipment and medical supplies to our nation’s frontline responders who are risking everything to save their fellow Americans," committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, a New York Democrat, said in a statement. "The Administration should utilize the Defense Production Act and other legal authorities to maximize domestic production, ensure suppliers are prioritizing U.S. needs before exporting critical supplies, and ensure that cities, states, and the federal government are working together, rather than competing to procure scarce supplies.”

A spokesman for Gov. Larry Hogan said a statement from the governor would be forthcoming.

In Maryland, more than 2,300 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 36 have died.

On Monday, Hogan said governors would continue to press for supplies.

“I spent the weekend talking to people at the federal level, also pushing to get some of these supplies everywhere we can find them on the open market and around the world, not just here domestically, but there simply are not enough of all of these things, which is the greatest tragedy of this crisis,” Hogan said.

Hogan also said he would continue pressing the federal government to designate the region around the nation’s capital as a priority location for a federally supported virus testing site.

“The Washington region is where national leaders are actually fighting this battle for the nation, and this region is about to be hit with the virus in the same way that some other major metropolitan areas have been,” Hogan said.

In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo warned that the state is quickly running out of breathing machines: “At the current burn rate, we have enough ventilators for six days.”

He also said the state will pay a premium to manufacturers — and cover the cost of converting their factories, too — to produce gowns and other badly needed protective gear.

“But we need this like now. Not talking about two months, three months, four months,” Cuomo said. “We need these materials now.”

Cuomo has complained that the 50 states are competing against each other for protective gear and breathing machines, or are being outbid by the federal government, in a competition he likened to being on eBay.

President Donald Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that the federal stockpile is nearly depleted of the protective equipment needed by doctors and nurses, and some “horrific” days lie ahead.