Another 300 much-needed ventilators are heading to New Jersey to help the state cope with the coronavirus, President Donald Trump said Monday.
Trump made the announcement at his daily press conference at the White House.
Gov. Phil Murphy at his daily briefing Monday that the state’s need for ventilators is “right now, concern number one.”
“This is welcome news — and I do thank the administration — but, to be absolutely clear, this is far, far from what we need," he said.
Trump said Monday that the federal government was “spending a lot of time, effort on New York, New Jersey” as he talked with both Murphy and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“It’s a hotbed,” he said. “There’s no question about it.”
He said the 300 ventilators heading to New Jersey were part of a batch of 1,000 going to various states “very shortly,” including Michigan, Illinois, Louisiana and Connecticut.
New Jersey is seeking other protective equipment from the federal government as well though has received just a fraction of its requests. The state on Monday reported 16,636 known cases of COVID-19, including at least 198 deaths.
NJ Advance Media staff writers Matt Arco and Brent Johnson contributed to this report.
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Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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