New York has almost half (20,875) of the confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. (43,449) as testing has ramped up.
New York City alone has 12,305 confirmed cases, and the state has suffered 157 of the 545 deaths in the U.S, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters during his daily coronavirus briefing.
"I see it as a wave that will break at one point, and the question is, what is the point of the break?" Cuomo said. "When the wave breaks, does it crash over the health care system?"
Cuomo also announced an executive order to enlist registered nurses statewide.
"We're saying we want to enlist you to help," Cuomo said, reporting over 30,000 responses thus far.
"We would like them to help in hospitals, because this is not about assessing insurance claims. At this point, this is about saving lives."
Manhattan's Javits Center has been tasked by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish four temporary hospitals, adding a 1,000 beds to the state total of 53,000 beds.
Cuomo told reporters his state will require 110,000 beds.
"We cannot handle the wave at the high point," he said. "The wave has to come down."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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