Last night, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the bipartisan Congressman Coronavirus Task Force, pleaded for urgent assistance from across America with securing desperately needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Suffolk County. Earlier in the evening, Congressman Zeldin had been informed by county officials that Suffolk County’s stockpile of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was out of surgical masks, n95 masks, gowns, face shields and body bags.
Rep. Zeldin quickly received multiple direct offers to help, including one within minutes from Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner. Mr. Kushner informed Congressman Zeldin he was interested in helping Suffolk County secure all PPE needs for the next 30 days. Working with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone’s office, Rep. Zeldin sent details of all needed PPE directly to Mr. Kushner last night, and also communicated the details of Suffolk County’s situation directly to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Late last night, the first supplier’s offer to immediately deliver 150,000 surgical masks today was locked into place, and less than 24 hours later, these masks have been delivered to Suffolk County. Congressman Zeldin has continued to connect county officials with additional offers for gowns and other needed PPE.
“The 150,000 surgical masks were just delivered to Suffolk County for our great hospital workers and other front line professionals. Yesterday, I was notified that the county’s stockpile of surgical masks, regular sized n95 masks, gowns, face shields, and body bags was EMPTY. Working with County Executive Steve Bellone and his team and the White House, we were able to make things happen quickly last night. We are all in this together as one community,” said Congressman Zeldin.
“We must do everything in our power to ensure our medical professionals, first responders, law enforcement and other essential workers are able to do their jobs while being able to protect their own health, and the health of others, including their precious family members.”
