Governor Andrew Cuomo again called for President Trump to implement the Defense Production act, mandating companies to produce badly needed medical supplies quickly for the coronavirus emergency. Cuomo says we can’t wait for people and industries to come forward and volunteer to make the needed masks, gloves and ventilators. He says a national emergency requires assignments to be made and deadlines to be set on the critical materials.
Cuomo says the state has had success in locating supplies of masks, gloves, face shields and gowns and is distributing them statewide as needed.
Cuomo has ordered New York’s hospitals to come up with plans to increase their capacity by 50 percent, with a goal of 100 percent. He says state regulations on room occupancy are being waived so more patients can be fitted in.
Cuomo says the FDA has expedited approval of an experimental drug to be used in New York on a compassionate care basis. The governor says it takes the plasma from a person who has recovered from the virus and injects the antibodies into a person who is sick, helping their body fight off the disease. It’s for patients in serious condition and will start this week.
Governor Cuomo says 78,000 people have now been tested statewide, and New York is doing one quarter of all the tests done in the United States.
Cuomo says now that he’s shut down the state’s economy to slow spread of the coronavirus, it’s now time to plan for when the state can pivot and open up again. Cuomo says that planning is now underway.