TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A massive amount of critical medical equipment is being sent to health care workers across the state of Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday.
Speaking in Tallahassee, the governor said the state is receiving 1 million N95 respirator masks for medical workers.
"Those are probably the most sought after piece of [personal protective equipment] right now," DeSantis said. "We have 800,000 of that shipment in hand."
Florida's Division of Emergency Management will send those masks to front-line hospital and health care workers across the state, the governor said.
In addition, Florida is receiving the following PPE, which will be distributed to medical professionals over the next 36 hours:
- 1.2 million procedure masks
- 100,000 face shields
- 500,000 gloves
- 60,000 containers of hand sanitizer
- 35,000 gowns
"That is a massive amount of equipment," DeSantis said.
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Coronavirus | We're Open South Florida
According to the latest numbers from the Florida Department of Health, there are 21,367 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, including 524 deaths.
The governor said you can get updates about the state's response to the coronavirus by texting FLCOVID19 to 888777.