Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking for help from medical professionals in other states as New York grapples with tens of thousands of coronavirus infections.
At a Monday press conference, the governor pleaded for the assistance of healthcare workers in areas not as badly affected as his state. He said New York would “return the favor” in the future.
“As governor of New York, I am asking healthcare professionals across the country: If you don’t have a healthcare crisis in your community, please come help us in New York now,” he said.
“If you are not busy, come help us, please. And we will return the favor. We will return the favor,” he said, later adding, “The New York way is to be helpful.”
New York is approaching 1,000 deaths and is facing issues with the influx of patients in hospitals, especially in New York City, where more than 10% of the New York Police Department called in sick last week. President Trump sent a hospital ship to Manhattan to help assist with the situation.
Cuomo warned that New York is not an aberration and said there will be other outbreaks in other parts of the country in the coming weeks.
“We are the ones who are hit now. That’s today, but tomorrow it’s going to be somewhere else,” the governor warned, adding, “It will work its way across the country.”
Cuomo also detailed his frustration with people flouting stay-at-home orders by gathering in large groups, including basketball games that persist in many parks. He said the city will order the closure of some public spaces if gatherings persist.
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“Still, in New York City, you have too many places with too much density. I don’t know how many different ways to make the same point. New York City parks, we made the point there’s too much density. If you want to go to the park, go to the park. But not in a dense area. Not in playgrounds where you’re playing basketball with other people,” Cuomo explained.
He added, “And I have said that New York City is trying to reduce the density in those playgrounds. Thus far, they have not been successful. If that continues, we’ll take a mandatory action to close down the playgrounds, as harsh as that sounds. It can actually save people’s lives.”
Across the country, there have been more than 150,000 COVID-19 virus infections and at least 2,828 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
