New York Gov. Cuomo orders ventilators shifted to most-overwhelmed hospitals,
NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he would order the redistribution of critically needed ventilators. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a national enlistment program for doctors and nurses. And the coronavirus outbreak picked up speed with more deaths and more hospitalizations.
Ventilator redeployment
Cuomo said Friday he will sign an order to redistribute hundreds of ventilators to hospitals overwhelmed with coronavirus patients amid a surge in outbreak-related deaths and hospitalizations.
New York state tallied its biggest daily jump yet in deaths— up 562 to 2,935. Almost 15,000 people were hospitalized.
“You have more deaths, you have more people coming into hospitals than any other night,” a weary sounding Cuomo told a state Capitol news briefing.
As of Friday evening, New York City on its own tallied 1,867 deaths.
New York City hospitals are filling up with COVID-19 patients, and officials fear they will soon run out of breathing machines for intensive care patients. Cuomo said his executive order will allow the state to redeploy excess ventilators and protective equipment from hospitals and other institutions. He said there could be several hundred excess ventilators.
“I’m not going to let people die because we didn’t redistribute ventilators,” Cuomo said.
The governor wants upstate hospitals to loan 20% of their unused ventilators to struggling downstate hospitals. National Guard members will pick up ventilators across the state and institutions that give up equipment will get it back or be reimbursed, he said.
The announcement from the Democratic governor quickly exposed geographic tensions within the state. A statement from Reps. Tom Reed, Elise Stefanik and other upstate New York Republicans called it “reckless” and said it “will cost lives.”
“Taking our ventilators by force leaves our people without protection and our hospitals unable to save lives today or respond to a coming surge,” Reed and his GOP colleagues said.
Jody Lomeo, president and chief executive of Buffalo-based Kaleida Health, said Cuomo’s plan was “designed to pit upstate versus downstate.” Kaleida operates four hospitals in Buffalo and its suburbs.
In New York City, de Blasio said “this is exactly the kind of thing we need” as the city races to handle a surge in cases.