We’re here in Queens, New York, in front of Elmhurst Hospital Center, the epicenter of the epicenter, if you will. There are more than 35,000 cases in New York State, already more than 300 deaths more than in all of Germany. And Elmhurst is the center here. In this hospital behind me, almost all the beds are already occupied, all 545 beds are occupied by Covid-19 patients. All others are rejected.
Hours of waiting for a Covid-19 test
You see the snake behind me. These are people who have been waiting for hours to be tested in the tents over there. Those lines were a lot longer this morning. The intensive care unit is completely overcrowded and doctors report chaotic conditions. There is a lack of material, ventilators, masks and similar things. The 1,800 intensive care beds in New York will probably all be occupied tomorrow. Because of this, the city is dependent on outside help, including from the Army Core of Engineers and FEMA. These are the places that are now supposed to provide the field hospitals.
More tragic stories are to come
I’ve spoken to a few people here, mostly immigrants, including Oscar, a 62-year-old who just tested positive and was awaiting his wife’s result. So have to go into quarantine. Particularly tragic: He has already lost his job. His cleaning lady wife also lost her job. And they can’t hope for government support now because they’re in the country illegally. What is considered illegal. Those are the tragic stories that you’re going to hear a lot about here now. On the side here I just saw a refrigerated truck, where the dead are stored and then transported away. Conditions here are so bad. However, this does not apply to all hospitals in New York. You have to be careful there. The situation is not that dramatic yet.
The queue here on Monday was already much longer, and in this respect Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio hope that the situation may now improve slightly. But for the foreseeable future, New York is certainly the epicenter in the epicenter of this pandemic.
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