Coronavirus In Illinois: Second Shipment Of PPE From China Arriving At O'Hare Airport Today
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Illinois is expecting another shipment of personal protective equipment from China to arrive in Chicago on Monday to help fight COVID-19. The state got its first batch of supplies from China last week.
Gov. JB Pritzker arranged for two charter flights of personal protective equipment from China, including ventilators, masks, gloves, gowns, protective eyewear and hand sanitizer. According to published reports, Pritzker had been keeping details of the shipments secret, out of fear the Trump administration might seize the supplies for the federal stockpile.
The first flight arrived at O'Hare International Airport on Thursday. The FedEx plane was loaded with millions of pieces of PPE. The governor has said a second FedEx flight will arrive sometime Monday.
The shipments cost the state $88,275 each.
Pritzker has said Illinois is competing with other states, the federal government, and even foreign countries for PPE in the fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic; while also trying to avoid being scammed by those selling bogus supplies.
"As to scams, oh my goodness. I mean, I've talked to other governors. As you can imagine, you've seen it all online if anybody's even looked for any PPE on their own," Pritzker said Sunday. "The scams are everywhere. You can imagine big ones and small ones. People have tried to contact us to get us signed up for delivery of PPE that doesn't exist."
The PPE arriving from China will go to healthcare workers and first responders across Illinois.