New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) is urging the administration to act quickly with their response to the coronavirus outbreak.
On Tuesday, Cuomo took to Twitter with a live stream briefing at the Javits Center in Manhattan. The governor discussed the pandemic as it continues to plague the state of New York.
He began with an update on the rate of increase in the number of cases in New York, revealing how it is “doubling about every three days.”
Cuomo noted that a forecaster initially described the coronavirus as a “freight train” but has accelerated to a “bullet train” based on the speed it which it’s continuing to spread.
Based on the projections and the current speed at which the virus is spreading, Cuomo has new projections and estimates for the medical supplies and resources hospitals will need to effectively operate.
Initially, Cuomo estimated between 55,000 and 110,000 hospital beds were needed, as reported on IJR.
But due to the rapid rate the coronavirus is spreading, Cuomo’s now estimates the number of hospital beds needed could be as high as 140,000.
We had projected a need for 110K hospital beds at the apex of this virus.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 24, 2020
The rate of infection is INCREASING and the curve has increased.
New projections show we may need 140K beds.
NYS is doing everything we can on every level to slow the spread.
We need your cooperation.
He also noted the difficulty he — and other governors are facing — to acquire ventilators. Despite a projected need for 30,000 ventilators, Cuomo noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is sending 400.
Cuomo is urging the Trump administration to act swiftly to get ahead of the virus to flatten the curve because it is progressively increasing.
Although many companies have offered to pitch in on the production of ventilators, Cuomo notes that time is the biggest factor right now — 14 days.
“There is no other way for us to get these ventilators, we’ve tried everything else,” he said. “The only way we can obtain these ventilators is from the federal government, period.”
“If we don’t have the ventilators in 14 days it does us no good,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo went on to discuss the Defense Production Act urging President Donald Trump to tap into those resources and prioritize states’ problems based on magnitude.
He went on to say that if the ventilators aren’t received, thousands of people may die.
“You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators,” Cuomo said.
See Cuomo’s full briefing below:
At the Javits Center in New York City making an announcement. WATCH: https://t.co/ylMDR0U440
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 24, 2020
Continuing livestream. WATCH: https://t.co/W5ZIKyIUOp
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 24, 2020
As of Tuesday afternoon, the state of New York now had more than 25,000 positive coronavirus cases with numbers doubling in the last three days.
