New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed that his state is linking up with seven Northeastern neighbors to purchase medical equipment and personal protective equipment (PPE) in the fight against COVID-19. 

New York will join New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to purchase the equipment as a block, eliminating competition between them to drive down prices, Cuomo said at a press briefing.

“We can’t go through this day-to-day moving masks all across the state, this mad scramble that we were in and still are in, in many ways,” Cuomo said. “Also, as a nation, we can’t go through this again. There was competition among states, there was competition among private entities to get this equipment, the federal government was trying to buy it. I’m bidding on behalf of New York, we’re bidding against other states. Texas, California— other states across the country are trying to buy the same masks among the same vendor.” 

Read the full article on CBS News.