EQUIPMENT SHORTAGE

New York Is ‘Scouring the Globe’ for Medical Equipment as Coronavirus Cases Top 10,000: Cuomo

The state had done 45,000 tests by Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, and 1.5 million N95 masks were on the way.

New York state is “scouring the globe” for medical supplies, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday, as positive coronavirus cases in the state surged above 10,000. At the press conference in New York, he outlined the lengths the state has gone, from sending 1 million N95 masks to New York City to purchasing more than 6,000 additional ventilators for the state. With a hospitalization rate of coronavirus patients at around 15 percent in the state, he’s also looking to increase hospital capacity from 50,000 to 75,000 and build four temporary hospitals. “We’re working on every level,” he said. “Every piston is firing.” He said state officials were assessing whether the Army Corps of Engineers could build new hospitals inside the Javits Convention Center, two SUNY facilities, and the Westchester Convention Center. He said there was a state-wide shortage of hospital gowns, but face masks were the priority right now.

New York had done at least 45,000 tests by Saturday with 10,356 positive results. “We’re actually looking for positives,” Cuomo said. “The more tests you take, the more positives you will find.”

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Wilbert L. CooperWeekend Editor

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