BOSTON — Brenna Nan Schneider of 99 Degrees flipped a shapeless blue gown around on Monday at the governor's daily COVID-19 update. 

 

This nondescript item and materials similar to it are now vital to health-care centers across the state because of the highly contagious novel coronavirus. The simple gown also marked a pivot for manufacturers in Massachusetts as a "Manufacturing Emergency Response Team" helps businesses retool to produce much-needed personal protective gear.  

 

"Understand that very little PPE is made in the US," said Schneider, founder and CEO of the performance activewear company. "We've learned a new industry involving hospital needs, FDA regulations, and a supply chain by drinking from a fire hose."

 

Schneider's company employs 150 in Lawrence in designing and producing a range of wearable products including technology applications. When she first learned of COVID-19, the first reaction was fear, and making contingency plans to address needs of the company, its employees, and its suppliers and customers. 

 

"And then, almost immediately, we learned that first-responders in the medical community had an urgent need for critical personal protective equipment, also known as PPE," she said. "I felt a responsibility to put our manufacturing model to work."

 

99 Degrees first worked with the state's emergency team on making masks. Then with MERT on other critical needs. Now it's manufacturing one million, level one isolation gowns for the medical community.

 

"They provided focus and direction to pursue the PPE that we could best make and scale," Schneider said. "And they provided credit clarity and rigor, to ensure that we weren't building just to make something, but to make FDA-compliant products that protects."

 

Scheider said the collaboration with MERT was critical in determining what the company could make and how it could do it, including developing new procedures and training to ensure the safety of its workers. 

 

"The collaboration, even among competitors, has been one of the most inspiring and authentic parts of this chance. The state not only called on its manufacturers to respond in a time of need, but has also shown commitment to supporting us," she said. 

 

Gov. Charlie Baker announced that more than $10 million in funding is being invested in the initiative to produce personal protective equipment and other materials and equipment including ventilators, sanitizers and thermometers. 

 

The COVID-19 outbreak has been devastating for the state economy, he said, and especially for small businesses that have had to temporarily shut their doors or operate under difficult social distancing guidelines.

 

"We are blown away with the resiliency imagination and creativity of many of our entrepreneurs," he said. "There's incredible work going on behind the scenes in our local businesses and companies, and through some unique partnerships, we've created and funded a program to assist local manufacturers, so that they can make PPE, even if it's not in their business model."

 

MERT includes representatives from MassTech Collaborative, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and its Lincoln Labs, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the Massachusetts Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Associated Industries of Massachusetts, and other industry partners.

 

MassTech and Advanced Functional Fabrics of America will administer $5.6 million in funds through the existing Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Institute program. Another $4 million has been made available through the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, with an additional $1 million for workforce training contributed by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development and the Commonwealth Corporation through the existing Workforce Training Fund Program.

 

"Some companies are already making face shields, test swabs and medical gowns," the governor said. "FormLabs in Somerville is 3D printing diagnostic swabs, Merrow [Manufacturing] in Fall Fall River is making gowns — they're one of the first companies to reach out to us. LovePop here in Boston is going from making greeting cards to face shields, gowns, coveralls, hoods, and shoe coverings. The New Balance factory in Lawrence is working to make shoe coverings, gowns and masks."

 

Also at the update, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders clarified the point system for crisis standards of care announced last week. 

 

"It's important to reiterate that these guidelines are voluntary," she said. "And at their core is to mitigate against unconscious bias in making critical medical decisions during a pandemic or crisis where there are scant medical resources."

 

Some hospitals already have standards, she said, but others did not so these guidelines were promulgated to provide them with templates. The guidelines call out the factors that should not be used include race, gender, immigration status, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation or disabilities.

 

"They are irrelevant. And not to be considered by providers, making difficult decisions, if that time comes," Sudders said. "We must work to mitigate these long-standing institutional barriers in order to improve equitable access to care and treatment."

 

The state currently has about half of its available beds occupied, although this number varies from region to region. The current number of patients the step down centers at Boston Hope is about 36 and at the DCU in Worcester, about 10. Officials have been preparing for a predicted surge in patients over the next couple weeks that could range from 47,000 to 172,000 positive cases and 2,500 deaths. The current count is 26,867 confirmed cases (with the caveat that an unknown number may be infected but not tested) and 844 deaths from complications of COVID-19. 

 

"I would remind everyone we are seeing 2,500 new confirmed cases a day, so we won't know the full impact of whether individuals are hospitalized until the next seven and 10 days," Sudders said. "So this is just the eye of the storm."