Gov. Cuomo says NY coronavirus cases have hit 10,300, unveils locations for makeshift hospitals, says 2 MILLION masks and 6,000 ventilators are being rushed across the state and reveals the New Rochelle lockdown slowed the spread
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has revealed the locations for makeshift hospitals in the state amid the coronavirus pandemic
- Locations include: Javits, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Westbury, and the Westchester Convention Center
- He said the state has located more than two million new masks and 6,000 ventilators, and has turned to apparel firms to help make more masks
- This still won't be enough he warned, with the state needing 30,000 ventilators
- The New Rochelle containment zone has helped to slow down the spread, he said, as he told 'young people' to stop ignoring the shutdown rules
- Cuomo pleaded with President Trump to waive all costs for the state as part of the federal government's emergency declaration, saying the 'state is broke'
- Confirmed coronavirus cases soared 10,356, almost 10 times that in the next most affected state Washington 1,402
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has revealed the locations for makeshift hospitals and said more than two million masks and 6,000 ventilators are being rushed across the state, as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases soared past 10,300.
In a live conference on Saturday, Cuomo told the state's 19 million residents that he had identified a number of locations to set up makeshift hospitals as hospitals and healthcare workers have been buckling under the mounting crisis.
Cuomo confirmed the state had identified two million new masks and 6,000 ventilators, going some way to tackling shortages of the critical medical supplies.
He also urged New Yorkers to comply with the shutdown rules, saying that the New Rochelle containment zone had been successful in slowing the spread of the deadly virus.
The Governor also used the occasion to plead with President Trump to waive all costs for the state as part of the federal government's emergency declaration, saying the 'state is broke'.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has revealed the locations for makeshift hospitals in the state and has ordered more than 1.5 million masks and 6,000 ventilators to be delivered today, as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases soar past 10,000
New York state confirmed coronavirus cases reached 10,356 Saturday, including 6,211 in New York City.
Cuomo told New Yorkers in the press conference that the state is 'increasing hospital capacity to 50,000 to 75,000' and 'trying to reduce the spread over a period of months'.
'We are now working with hospitals to reconfigure space to get more beds and find more staff to manage the beds,' Cuomo said.
He identified a number of possible sites for makeshift hospitals that he will be visiting today including: the Jacob K Javits Center on 11th Avenue, New York City; SUNY Stony Brook; SUNY Westbury; and the Westchester Convention Center.
Javits will provide an additional 1,000 beds for those needing hospital treatment due to the virus, he said.
The number of beds available in the other locations is not yet known, he said.
Cuomo said the hospitals would give New York a 'regional distribution and capacity' to tackle the crisis.
He said the priority is on 'increasing supplies... one of the most critical activities'.
Two million N95 masks have been identified and one million will be sent to New York City and 500,000 to Long Island on Saturday
New York state confirmed coronavirus cases reached 10,356, including 6,211 in New York City
'We are literally scouring the globe looking for medical supplies,' he said.
Two million N95 masks have been identified and one million will be sent to New York City and 500,000 to Long Island on Saturday, he said.
'They won't get us through the crisis but they will make a significant contribution,' he said.
Clothing companies have offered their support, and have started rerouting production away from fashion apparel to face masks.
6,000 additional ventilators have also been located and will 'be coming in over the next several weeks', he said.
However he admitted that this is still far lower than the 30,000 ventilators needed by the state.
Cuomo also called for Trump to step up the state's financial assistance, as its 10,356 cases dwarf the next most affected state of Washington, which has 1,402.
These shock figures show New York now has almost 10 times the cases than any other individual state.
He referred to the president's emergency declaration made on Friday night, which now means FEMA can send personnel and resources to the state.
'It means FEMA can step in and assist financially and pay 75 percent of the disaster and New York state can pay 25 percent,' he explained.
He urged the federal government to go further and waive the 25 percent state costs, saying: ‘If there's any situation where FEMA should waive the 25 percent this is the situation.'
Cuomo also requested federal aid of four field hospitals with a 250 bed capacity and four Army Corps of Engineers temporary hospitals.
Cuomo also thanked Dr Fauci as ‘an extraordinary American’ who has helped him put together the policies needed across the state.
Makeshift hospital sites: The Jacob K Javits Center on 11th Avenue, New York City which will provide an additional 1,000 beds
The Westchester Convention Center: Cuomo told New Yorkers in the press conference that the state is 'increasing hospital capacity to 50,000 to 75,000' and 'trying to reduce the spread over a period of months'
New Academic Building, SUNY: 'We are now working with hospitals to reconfigure space to get more beds and find more staff to manage the beds,' Cuomo said.
The campus at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook: The number of beds that will be available here is not yet known
To the New York public, Cuomo urged people 'to not listen to rumors' about the shutdown, saying that 'everything still functions' so there is 'no need for anxiety'.
He sought to reassure residents that the skyrocketing number of cases is because the state is carrying out more tests.
New York is taking more tests per capita than China or South Korea and any other US state, he said.
‘The more tests you take the more positive results,’ he said.
However he also blasted 'young people' who are flouting the stay at home rules and said he would be visiting the parks in New York City today to assess the situation.
Pointing to statistics that show 54 percent of the confirmed cases in New York state are among 18-49 year olds, he made a stark warning to people who think they won't get ill from coronavirus that 'you are wrong'.
Cuomo also called on psychologists and therapists to pitch in and volunteer their services to help support people with mental health conditions at this increasingly fraught time.
In New York City between the hours of 10am and 6pm on Friday, 14 people died from the virus - equivalent to almost two people every single hour.
Trump declared New York State a major disaster area Friday night, after the number of confirmed cases skyrocketed.
This marks the first time ever in US history that a president has ever declared a major disaster area over a public health threat.
It came four days after Cuomo had urged the president to take action.
FEMA will now be able to send personnel and resources to the state, as well as set up mobile coronavirus testing centers, disinfect public facilities and provide in-demand medical supplies including face masks, gloves and surgical gowns.
The declaration also allows the US military to make further assistance plans.
The US military is now working on plans to takeover hotels, college dormitories and sports arenas in New York and turn them into ICU-like medical facilities in desperate efforts to bolster facilities as hospitals buckle under the number of cases.
The military had previously said that it will be making two hospital ships and more than five million face masks, coronavirus test kits and ventilators available to regions that are most in need.
Ventilators are in huge demand across New York State and city hospitals.
At the Bronx's Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, a doctor told the New York Times that they only had a few ventilators left for coronavirus patients who needed them to breathe.
In Queens, a doctor revealed that an elderly patient experiencing coronavirus symptoms died on the hospital ward floor.
Earlier on Friday, Cuomo issued a total ban on non-essential businesses in New York state and ordered 100 percent of the workforce to stay home.
The ban is to go into effect on Sunday evening and is indefinite.
Work forces that are excluded are grocery stores, pharmacies, certain government workers, food deliveries and restaurants, internet service providers and news organizations.
Public transportation would also continue as usual and 'for hire vehicles' were included as essential businesses which would appear to mean Ubers and Lyft will still operate. Pool rides have been stopped.
Cuomo said he had tried to put off the order but felt he could no longer hold off as the number of cases continued to rise.
'These actions will cause businesses to close. They will cause much unhappiness. I understand that.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared the city the epicenter of the US outbreak in a press conference Friday.
'We constitute 30 percent of the cases in the US and 70 per cent of the cases in New York State. Whether we like it or not, we are the epicenter,' he said.
The National Institutes of Health Friday warned that up to 70,000 Americans could be confirmed as having coronavirus by the end of next week in 'dramatic increase' of cases, up from the current tally of more than 19,600 confirmed cases.
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2020-03-21 20:07:47Z
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