State officials and health experts say that every day New Jersey gets closer to the time when its health care system becomes overwhelmed with coronavirus patients needing treatment, ICU beds and ventilators.

And while most of us are hunkering down at home and clutching tightly to our supplies of toilet paper and hand sanitizer, some companies and businesspeople with Garden State connections are taking the opportunity to give.

“Our corporate citizens have stepped up in a big way and continue to do so,” Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday in Trenton at his daily coronavirus press briefing.

Murphy named multiple companies who are coming to the state’s aid in its time of need, and noted the state is still asking anyone with any kind of personal protective equipment — including masks, protective gowns, gloves, face shields — to come forward.

Experts have predicted a grim picture for New Jersey’s hospitals, which will likely see a shortage of ventilators and ICU beds as the number of serious cases peak, maybe as soon as April.

Some companies are donating cash to hospitals while others are handing over their stores of N95 masks so medical personnel can stay safe. One New Jersey brewery even gave gift cards to local ER nurses in the hopes that it would help them blow off some steam.

Here are some of the donors and what they’re doing to help.

Merck & Co. — The Kenilworth-based pharmaceutical giant, told the state it plans to donate 300,000 masks to New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness to help medical workers fighting COVID-19.

Goldman Sachs — The Wall Street investment banking firm where Murphy spent more than two decades as an executive is donating 175,000 N95 masks.

Murphy said the company is also “scouring their client system to see if that can unearth any ventilators.” The state only has about half of what it will likely need for seriously ill patients.

Johnson & Johnson — The multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in New Brunswick is donating 10,000 pairs of protective goggles to help keep medical personnel safe, Murphy said. The company is also donating $50 million to fight coronavirus.

Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and Pipefitters Local 24 - The New Jersey unions have donated masks for medical workers, Murphy said.

PSE&G — The energy company announced it is donating 50,000 N95 masks, part of PSEG’s emergency supplies, to an undisclosed health care system. The company said it will continue evaluating its inventory to identify future donation opportunities.

Prudential Financial — The Newark-based insurance company, is donating 153,000 protective face masks and respirators to the state. Stockpiled as emergency supplies after the 9/11 terror attacks, the masks and respirators are expected to provide a two-week respite for hospitals until additional masks and other supplies can be delivered.

UBS Financial Services Inc. — Murphy said the international investment bank with offices in Weehawken donated masks for medical workers.

South Jersey Industries — The corporation in Folsom that includes subsidiaries like South Jersey Gas is donating $100,000 to the fight against coronavirus. That includes a $50,000 donation to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund and $25,000 each to the AtlantiCare Foundation and Trinitas Regional Medical Center, the corporation said.

Eclipse International -—The North Brunswick manufacturer will switch from making mattresses to face masks. The initial batch of 38,000 will be donated to the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, in New Brunswick, according to a statement.

Tablecloth Company — After getting the suggestion from customers, the Paterson company will be making face masks instead of table cloths to help fill the need for protective gear.

Claremont Distillery — The Fairfield distillery is now making much-needed hand sanitizer that they are donating to people in-person at the distillery, with priority going to first responders and essential personnel. Donations from others — including a $10,000 check on Mike Rowe’s “Returning the Favor” television show — are helping keep the production going.

Harbor Freight — The company with 21 stores in New Jersey announced it will be donating all of its stores of N95 masks, face shields and nitrile gloves to medical facilities that have 24-hour emergency rooms.

Wakefern Food Corp., which owns and operates ShopRite and other supermarkets, has donated 12 trailers to transport hospital equipment to new pop-up field hospitals being organized around New Jersey.

Murphy also said that the leaders of Apple, Ralph Lauren, GlaxoSmithKline, Walgreens, Sherwin Williams, Comcast and Home Depot have reached out to offer gear or other support.

In addition, the co-founders of the company that owns the New Jersey Devils, gave a six-figure donation to Newark for a program that provides groceries to city families in need during the coronavirus pandemic.

A large number of retailers are using their manufacturing facilities to make masks and equipment.

Anyone looking to donate PPE can do so at www.covid19.nj.gov/ppedonations.

For more on how businesses are stepping up during the coronavirus crisis, or to tell us how your business is helping, check out NJ.com’s new initiative NJ Is Open*

For more on how people and businesses keep finding a way to make things even a little better for friends, neighbors or strangers during this time of crisis, check out #TogetherNJ

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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