There is a coronavirus pavilion in Central Park. A makeshift hospital has been set up in a Manhattan convention center. In the coming weeks, public spaces such as professional tennis courts, university dormitories and a cruise ship terminal would be housing patients as part of New York State efforts to triple its hospital capacity.
But even so, authorities are concerned that these titanic efforts will not be enough at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The state recently released a chart that counts hospital beds, ending questions about how much space there might be in nursing homes. Some health and local leaders have questioned whether too much temporary hospital space is set aside for patients who do not have the virus that causes COVID-19, although a huge temporary facility is now planned to focus on their care.
And the authorities emphasize that, by themselves, beds cannot solve a problem that increases by more than a thousand hospitalizations every day.
“We can find the beds. It is not easy, but it is possible. The most difficult elements are personnel and supplies, ”Governor Andrew Cuomo said Thursday.
While talking, more than 13,300 coronavirus patients were hospitalized and more than 3,300 they required intensive therapy throughout the state, though most of them in New York City. The peak of the outbreak is expected to be between seven and 30 days away, the state leader said.
When that happens, New York predicts it will need 140,000 beds, compared to 53,000 at the start of the crisis. It is expected that there will be so many seriously ill patients that New York is preparing to convert its 20,000 permanent hospital beds into intensive care units, and try to add 65,000 temporary beds for patients who require other types of care.
In most people, the new virus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough. In some cases, particularly the elderly and people with pre-existing diseases, more severe conditions may occur, including pneumonia or death. So far it has caused more than 2,300 deaths in New York, according to the governor.
The search for hospital space, staff and respirators is intended to deal with the worst-case scenario: medical facilities so overwhelmed that people whose lives could be saved die.
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