Hawaii urging residents to buy locally made PPE to reduce mainland reliance kitv.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kitv.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
May 5, 2021
Personal protective equipment made by local companies who were given federal funds to help grow the local supply are now available for purchase online, the state announced.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused an immediate shortage of PPE and cleaning supplies throughout the world, which greatly threatened Hawaii due to its very limited local capacity to manufacture PPE, the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism said Tuesday.
Using CARES Act funds, the Personal Protective Equipment Supply Chain Program provided grants of up to $500,000 to small businesses throughout the state to help establish a local supply chain of cleaning supplies and PPE. The program awarded all $10 million of the appropriated funds to 36 companies including Maui County-based businesses like Kahele Maui and HNu Photonics and the projects were completed by Dec. 30.