‘You choose the 26,000 who die’: Gov. Cuomo slams Trump for sending only 400 ventilators when New York needs 30,000 as coronavirus cases in the state rise to 25,000
- There are 25,000 cases of coronavirus in the state of New York and thousands more are predicted
- Gov. Cuomo said it will peak in ’14 to 21 days’ and that the state is not ready for the influx of patients
- There is an urgent need for ventilators – New York needs 30,000 but it only has 7,000
- Trump has refused to enact the Defense Production Act, saying he has not had to because companies are volunteering
- Governors are furious over the decision and say they need the resources faster than they are being delivered
- In the US, there are now more than 46,000 cases of the virus and more than 580 people have died
- New York is the epicenter but Cuomo warned the rest of the country will see similar numbers in ‘weeks’
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo fumed at President Trump on Tuesday for sending New York 400 ventilators from the federal stockpile when the state needs 30,000 to battle coronavirus.
Speaking at the Javits Center, which will become a temporary field hospital in New York City, Cuomo revealed that the number of coronavirus cases across the state of New York had risen to 25,000.
He needs 30,000 ventilators to treat the wave of patients who will soon need care but FEMA has only given the state 400 from a stockpile of 20,000.
‘You pick the 26,000 who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators,’ he said.
He went on to say that Trump and the government have told him they will not release the ventilators ‘because companies are coming forward who want to do it.’
Gov. Cuomo fumed that he needs 30,000 ventilators but that only 400 have been delivered to the state of New York
Four hundred ventilators will delivered to New York City by FEMA on Tuesday
Trump boasted about the ventilators on Twitter, saying on Tuesday morning: ‘Just got 400 ventilators to NYC!’
Cuomo warned that the ‘apex’ of the virus will hit New York in just 14-21 days. At worst, he predicts the state will need 140,000 hospital beds including 40,000 ICU beds and 30,000 ventilators.
Despite repeated pleas to President Trump, the government has only sent 400 ventilators to New York. Cuomo fumed over it on Tuesday, saying: ‘You want a pat on the back for 400 ventilators? What am I going to do with 400 ventilators.
Speaking at the Javits Center, which will be a temporary field hospital, he warned: ‘New York is the canary in the coal mine. We have the highest and fastest rate of infection.
‘We’re just getting there first – deploy the resources here in New York for our apex and then after the apex passes here, once we’re passed the critical point, deploy the ventilators to where they are needed.
‘We are just a test case. That’s how the nation should look at it. Look at us today. Where we are today, you will be in three weeks, four weeks, six weeks – we are your future and what we do here will chart the course for what you do.
‘I’m asking you to help New York to help yourselves. Let’s learn how to do it right and right here – act as one nation here and we learn the lesson here, we will save lives in your community, I promise you that,’ he said.
‘The increase in cases continues unabated. The rate of increase has gone up, it’s doubling every three days. That is a dramatic increase in the rate of infection.
‘We were looking at a freight train – we’re now looking at a bullet train. We haven’t flattened the curve. The curve is actually increasing.
‘The anticipated need now is 140,000 hospital beds and approximately 40,000 ICU beds. Those are troubling and astronomical numbers. They project at this time could be 14-21 days away – not only do we have a spike in the increase, when you spike the increase in cases it accelerates the apex.
‘We’re doing everything we can on every level to slow the spread,’ he said.
Cuomo has also introduced trials for the anti-malaria drug that President Trump has touted as a potential treatment for the virus.
He also announced a plan for identifying people who had the virus without knowing it by testing their blood for virus anti-bodies.
The tests will determine if a person has had the virus and recovered without knowing it. It would allow them to go back to work and restart the economy, Cuomo said.