Coronavirus Update: De Blasio Says NYC Needs 15,000 Ventilators, 45,000 More Medical Personnel To Get Through Next 2 Months
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Mayor Bill de Blasio says New York City will need 15,000 more ventilators and 45,000 more medical personnel than the city started with at the beginning or March to get through April and May in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
"Possibly the toughest part of the equation is the personnel. And we're going to need help not only from everyone in the city but the entire country if we're going to meet this goal in time," de Blasio said.
The city will also need 85,000 more hospital beds.
De Blasio thanked President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner for providing 200,000 N95 masks to the city's public hospital system.
"That's going to really help us get through a lot of the month of April and I'm very thankful for that," de Blasio said.
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"The ventilators to me are one of the clearest examples of life and death. If we're going to save every single life we can save we must have the ventilators we need exactly where we need them when we need them," de Blasio said.
De Blasio said 2,500-3,000 additional ventilators are going to be needed just to get through next week.
Watch: Mayor BIll de Blasio Gives Coronavirus Update
"The federal government is the single most important source," de Blasio said. "I understand the entire nation has to be served but I also understand that we are the epicenter of this crisis, still about a quarter of the cases in this entire country are right here in New York City. And we are the tip of the spear and everyone I talk to in Washington acknowledges it. We're about to hit a huge surge in these coming days. They all know it... no one denies we are bearing the brunt and it's going to hit in the next few days."
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De Blasio said the decision by Governors Andrew Cuomo and Phil Murphy to order private companies to release any stockpile they have of crucially needed supplies of ventilators and PPEs is "exactly the kind of thing we need."
"In the event that any private organization, any company, any individual attempts to resist this new instruction from the state and does not provide those crucial life saving supplies and equipment, then I am authorizing the NYPD, the sheriff's office, the FDNY to use their law enforcement capacity to make sure those items are turned over immediately and brought immediately to where the need is greatest in our hospital system," he said.
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De Blasio said he has asked the Economic Development Corporation to look into a plan to develop ventilators locally.
"This is an an important part of the equation. It has never been done. But we have to see if there's any viable way to produce ventilators locally," he said.
De Blasio said the need for 45,000 more clinical staff means staffing at the newly built facilities will be on a "crisis" model.
"We're going to be staffing these medical facilities not in the ideal way, not in the way we all wish we could, but in the way that makes sense in battle, when we have to make smart choices, smart compromises to be able to save the most lives and serve the most people," he said.
De Blasio says the city is hoping to boost its staffing through contracting, volunteers and FEMA. He again called for a national enlistment program for medical personnel.
The mayor mourned the death of Comptroller Scott Stringer's mother Arlene Stringer-Cuevas, who succumbed to the virus.