Coronavirus Update: NYC Has Enough Medical Supplies To Get To Tuesday Or Wednesday, De Blasio Says
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday that New York City now has a enough medical supplies to make it through the middle of the week, roughly.
De Blasio had previously said that today was going to be make or break for the city in terms of supplies.
"What I can tell you, now that we've gotten to this crucial moment, is there is definitely some good news," de Blasio said. "I called for everyone else to come to our aid and the good news is that call was heard and acted on in so many ways. But that does not mean we're out of the woods for next week."
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
- Resources, Hotlines, Unemployment & Covering Bills
- Remote Learning Tools For Parents Teaching At Home
- Ask Dr. Max Your Health Questions
- How To Avoid Psychological Isolation
- Talking To Your Kids About Anxiety
- Make Your Own Hand Sanitizer
- Complete Coronavirus Coverage
"We thought as early as tonight there was the possibility of running out of crucial equipment like ventilators," de Blasio said. "Now I can tell you - and this is certainly good news here - we have bought a few more days here. We believe now we can get to Tuesday or Wednesday with the supplies that we have."
The mayor said his order to his team is to always prepare for the worst-case scenario.
WATCH: Mayor Bill de Blasio Gives Coronavirus Update
"The ventilators that we've gotten are going to stretch farther than we originally projected," de Blasio said.
"I see a few signs that are a little hopeful, for sure," de Blasio said, but it was too soon to say if the city was close to turning a corner in the battle.
The mayor said the city has distributed 2,865 ventilators to hospitals and 1,780 BPAP machines, which can be of help for some patients. The city is holding 135 ventilators in its reserves for deployment as needed.
WEB EXTRA: See De Blasio's Coronavirus Presentation (.pdf)
"That's the entire reserve we have left for all of this city of 8.6 million people," he said. "So to get through next week... we believe we'll need between 1,000-1,500 more ventilators for the period roughly Wednesday through Sunday."
De Blasio said he was appealing to the federal and state stockpiles. De Blasio said the federal stockpile holds 10,000 and the state has 2,000.
CORONAVIRUS: NY Health Dept. | NY Call 1-(888)-364-3065 | NYC Health Dept. | NYC Call 311, Text COVID to 692692 | NJ COVID-19 Info Hub | NJ Call 1-(800)-222-1222 or 211, Text NJCOVID to 898211 | CT Health Dept. | CT Call 211 | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
De Blasio said the city still needs an additional 45,000 total medical personnel of every variety.
"The good news is that we're seeing a really important surge of military medical personnel," de Blasio said. "We are now starting to see, as of today, a real sharp increase in the number of military medical personnel coming to the city. That's a very good thing."
Earlier Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he had directed the 1,000 federal military personnel coming into New York state to be distributed among New York City's public hospitals. De Blasio was thankful for the additional personnel, but called it a "down payment" and emphasized more help must come.
PHOTO GALLERY: A Look Inside NYC's Viral 'Warzone'
De Blasio thanked the governor of Oregon for donating 140 ventilators, calling it a selfless act.
De Blasio said he is considering extending the pilot program which closed certain streets to traffic to improve social distancing, but few people had turned out for it so far compared to the resources required to maintain it. Part of that may have been due to the weather, de Blasio said.
