BOSTON (WHDH) - Hospitals in Massachusetts will soon be getting a massive machine that is capable of sterilizing as many as 80,000 N95 masks in a single day.

RELATED: Coronavirus cases in Mass. could skyrocket to 172,000 in coming weeks

Partners HealthCare has joined forces with Battelle to bring the vitally important machine to the Boston area. It’s expected to be ready for use next week — just in time for an expected surge in coronavirus cases.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said Thursday during a news conference at the State House that Battelle’s Critical Care Decontamination System will up and running at the vacant KMart site in Somerville by Monday.

“The Battelle uses FDA-approved N95 decontamination technology,” Sudders said. “It is the fourth site operational in the United States. We moved very quickly to secure Massachusetts as the fourth location.”

Battelle is a nonprofit science and technology development company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

The Bay State on Thursday also secured more than 1 million N95 masks from China with the help of the New England Patriots.

Many Boston nurses have said they are worried that they won’t have enough equipment to stay safe while they care for coronavirus patients.

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