GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING, SATURDAY, 4/4

Donated Surgical Masks,

Ventilators Pour Into NY

ALBANY – Governor Cuomo at today’s briefing announced donations that included a million surgical masks each from the NBA and two Chinese Foundations, plus 1,000 ventilators and 100,000 pairs of goggles.

The Joseph and Clara Tsai Foundation and Jack Ma Foundation were the donors, and the gift was facilitated by the Chinese government and Ambassador Huang Ping, the Chinese consul general in New York City, the governor said.

The Tsais and Ma are co-founders of Alibaba, China’s equivalent of Google.

The ventilators arrived at JFK Airport today.

The National Basketball Association’s contribution was in collaboration with the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, as well as ambassador Huang.

Additionally, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has offered to provide New York with 140 ventilators from Oregon’s stockpile.

Governor Cuomo will also issue an Executive Order allowing medical students that are slated to graduate to begin practicing immediately to help with the state’s surge health care force.

To date, 85,000 health professionals, including 22,000 out-of-state individuals, have signed up to volunteer as part of the state’s surge healthcare force during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.