Cuomo: Hospitals must prepare for expected virus surge
New York’s hospitals must prepare for an expected surge in coronavirus infections by stockpiling masks and gowns, expanding capacity and identifying retired nurses and doctors who could pitch in, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
Cuomo said that with more than 3,500 people now hospitalized statewide for COVID-19 and more cases expected in the coming weeks, hospitals must draw up plans to redistribute patients both within health care networks and between networks so that no one hospital becomes overwhelmed, as happened when the pandemic first hit New York last spring.
The 3,500 figure is up from 900 people hospitalized in late June, Cuomo said, and cases will only rise as New Yorkers gather to celebrate the holidays.
“The cases are going to go up,” Cuomo said at a briefing in New York City. “I want to make sure our number one priority is hospital capacity. That has always been my nightmare.”