The state of New York is “relatively comfortable” with its supply of ventilators and personal protective equipment, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
New York, which is suffering the worst coronavirus outbreak in the nation, has been struggling with shortages on medical equipment such as face masks, gloves, and ventilators. As of Friday, Cuomo said the state has enough equipment to function.
“We’re OK right now. We’re OK. PPE you need every day. We have a stockpile where we are now relatively comfortable,” Cuomo said. “Remember, what we’re saying to these hospitals, they’re all uncomfortable. If you ask any hospital if they have enough PPE, they will say no. It is like asking a budget director does he have enough revenue. They will never say yes.”
He continued, “These hospitals are accustomed to having a one-month to two-month stockpile. They are now looking at several days of stockpile. So, they are all uncomfortable, but we only have several days for any hospital. And we do have several days for every hospital, and we do have a supply that’s coming in. So, compared to how we have been operating on this new dire circumstances, we are relatively comfortable with ventilators and PPE.”
Cuomo said the situation could change if hospitalization rates were to spike again. The hospitalization rate for the city has been leveling off and starting to decline for the past several days. Cuomo noted that he speaks with hospitals every day and takes reports on their stockpile to ensure that each one has enough equipment.
Louisiana, another coronavirus hot spot, also reported on Thursday that it has enough ventilators to protect coronavirus patients after predicting in the week prior that the state would run out.
As of Friday, New York had more than 7,000 coronavirus deaths, with 777 additional deaths from Thursday alone.