SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Gov. Gavin Newsom says it is loaning out 500 ventilators to the Strategic National Stockpile inventory to help other states during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We still have a long road ahead of us in the Golden State – and we’re aggressively preparing for a surge – but we can’t turn our back on Americans whose lives depend on having a ventilator now,” Newsom said in a statement on Monday.

In times of crisis, it’s more important than ever we are the UNITED States of America. CA is answering the call for Americans in NY and across the country, loaning 500 state-owned ventilators to those in need. I know, if the tables were turned, other states would be there for us. — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 6, 2020

California has been preparing for an expected surge in coronavirus cases.

Flattening The Curve: Experts Say California Is Doing Better Than Projected

Experts say California’s early and aggressive shelter-in-place orders may have spared straining the state’s health care system.

Still, researchers say California’s peak in COVID-19 cases is expected to come in late April.

California’s move to loan out some ventilators comes after the state of Washington also returned 400 ventilators to the stockpile over the weekend – a move praised by President Donald Trump.

“The state of Washington has done very well and they won’t be needing some of the ventilators that have been sent,” Trump said on Sunday.

Over the weekend, the number of people infected with the coronavirus in the US jumped to more than 300,000.