New York state plans to open two more temporary medical facilities this week to address the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.

Every county in New York state has now reported cases of the novel coronavirus, Cuomo said at a press briefing. The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease. The state has confirmed 92,381 cases of the virus, and 2,373 people have died, Cuomo said.

The state plans to open a temporary medical facility at the Staten Island Psych Center to exclusively treat patients who have COVID-19, Cuomo said. A temporary facility with 75,000 hospital beds is also scheduled to open at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal this week, he said.

Cuomo said the state is focusing on hospitals in the system that are under the most stress.

“The chain is only as strong as its weakest link,” Cuomo said. “That’s true for the hospital system.”

About 21,000 medical professionals from out-of-state have volunteered to help during the outbreak, Cuomo said. New York state has also extended its enrollment deadline for individuals to obtain healthcare coverage until May 15, he said.

Obtaining medical supplies continues to pose a challenge for the state, Cuomo said. Hospitals have begun conducting nightly surveys to track how many supplies are available, he said.

New York state currently has 2,200 ventilators in its stockpile, which is only enough for about six days, Cuomo said. About 350 people who need ventilators come into hospitals each night, he said.

“The burn rate of ventilators is troubling,” Cuomo said. “But we have all these extraordinary measures that, if push comes to shove, will put us in fairly good shape.”

Hospitals have been converting anesthesia machines and “splitting” ventilators between two patients, Cuomo said. New York state is now converting BiPap machines, non-invasive ventilators that use less energy, into full-power ventilators, he said. The state recently purchased 3,000 of these machines, he said.

Cuomo is asking manufacturers to shift their current operations to produce medical supplies, including hospital gowns, that the state can purchase, he said.

“The gowns are not complicated to manufacture,” Cuomo said. “I ask businesses to think about the situation we’re in.”

It’s unclear when New York state will see the height of the COVID-19 outbreak, Cuomo said. He believes the virus will reach its peak at the closer end of the estimated seven to 30 day range, he said.

“When the pressure is on, that’s when you see all the cracks, and all the strength,” Cuomo said. “You see what people are made of.”

Published on April 2, 2020 at 5:37 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan