Coronavirus in NY: Cuomo defends need for 30K ventilators after Trump called it overblown
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo defended the state’s request for 30,000 more ventilators to save coronavirus patients, a day after President Trump downplayed the need.
“All the predictions say you could have an apex needing 140,000 beds and about 40,000 ventilators,” Cuomo said at a press briefing Friday at Manhattan’s Javits Center. The state’s predictions come from Weill Cornell Medicine, the CDC and the consulting firm McKinsey and Company.
Cuomo, without mentioning Trump by name, added, “I don’t have a crystal ball. Everybody’s entitled to their own opinion, but I don’t operate here on opinion. I operate on facts and on data and on numbers and on projections.”
“I hope some natural weather change happens overnight and kills the virus globally. That’s what I hope, but that’s my hope, that’s my emotions, that’s my thoughts. The numbers say you may need 30,000,” Cuomo said.
On Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday Trump said, “I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be.”
Cuomo also shot down criticism by Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, about New York not using the ventilators they already have.
“Somebody said one of the cable news shows, the ventilators that New York needed aren’t even being deployed — they’re in a stockpile,” Cuomo said, paraphrasing Birx’s comments without naming her.
“Yes they’re in a stockpile because that’s where they’re supposed to be because we don’t need them yet. We need them for the apex. The apex isn’t here so we’re gathering them in the stockpile so when we need them they will be there,” Cuomo said.