New York could see a peak in the demand for hospital capacity in three weeks due to the coronavirus, and is planning to build a total of 8 temporary hospitals to meet the surge, Governor Andrew Cuomo told a news conference on Friday.
Cuomo, speaking against a backdrop of makeshift hospital beds at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, also said schools should remain closed for another two weeks until April 15th.
The governor has become a leading national voice on the coronavirus pandemic as the state has accounted for roughly one-third of the national death toll and half the known number of cases.
Cuomo said 44,635 people have tested positive in New York, up about 7,400 from Thursday, and that 519 New Yorkers have died from the virus, up from the previous day's total of 385 deaths.
"We are battling a deadly virus," Cuomo told the news conference. "It's the worst news but it’s not unexpected news either.
Cuomo said the state was seeking to build another four temporary makeshift hospitals to add an additional 4,000 beds, which he called part of a plan B to try to make up for a shortage of medical resources. Cuomo said he was going to ask the White House to grant the request to build those additional resources.
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