SACRAMENTO, Calif. — SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will spend another $315 million on protective masks through a contract with a Chinese manufacturer. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the deal with BYD on Wednesday as he touted California's efforts to procure masks for health care and other essential workers. Newsom signed a $1 billion contract with BYD in April and the first masks began arriving last month after delays. Newsom said California will soon launch a competitive bidding process to try to get more masks at lower prices. But he also acknowledged the masks aren't always getting to workers that need them and pledged a more aggressive state response.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
FILE - In this April 10, 2020, file photo, a ground crew at Los Angeles International Airport unload pallets of medical personal protective equipment from a China Southern Cargo plane upon its arrival in Los Angeles. California will spend $315 million more to buy hundreds of millions of protective masks as the coronavirus continues to ravage the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday, July 22, 2020. A new contract with Chinese manufacturer BYD will provide the state 120 million more tight-fighting N95 respirator masks and 300 million looser-fitting surgical masks. California first signed a $1 billion deal with the company in April and began receiving earlier shipments of masks in June after delays. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
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