ALBANY – The week beginning March 31 began with New York officially becoming the world epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 3, the state saw its highest daily surge in deaths and it appeared hospitals under strain were near collapse. But by April 6, there appeared to be a light at the end of that frightening tunnel – for the first time, the numbers of daily deaths, as well as hospitalizations statewide, went down.
Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose daily press conferences have become required watching for many across the country, extended the shutdown of schools and non-essential businesses until the end of April, cautioning against relaxing too soon. Over the course of the week, Utah, California and Washington state donated ventilators to New York, the Javits Center was designated a COVID-only hospital, and on Monday, the White House granted Cuomo’s request to convert the USN Comfort’s thousand beds to a 500 bed COVID patient-only care floating hospital.
City playgrounds in New York were closed on April 1, and a day later, the governor announced that at the rate of the virus’ advance, the state supply of ventilators would be exhausted in six days.
“Nobody expected the need for equipment that we have,” he said. “We were focusing on beds, and it turns out now we’re dealing with a PPE (personal protective equipment) shortage.”
Faced with an imminent disaster, he called on the state’s hospitals to combine efforts and act as one system across the state. He asked all medical facilities to inventory their medical supplies and identify 20% of their unused stockpile for distribution where it was most needed.
When he didn’t get voluntary cooperation, he announced on April 3 that he would sign an executive order mandating that sharing.
That drew criticism not only from upstate Republicans, but Democratic Congressman Antonio Delgado and State Senator Jen Metzger, who released a letter to the governor over the weekend expressing “grave concern.””
“We are aware of plans to shift ventilators from our upstate communities and are gravely concerned. Health care access in rural communities has long been under strain, and we know the apex of cases in upstate is around the corner. We stand ready to help our fellow New Yorkers, but moving needed ventilators from our region now would be devastating and counter intuitive to all data on the spread of COVID-19.”
By April 7, the governor said that Executive Order would be official by day’s end.
Meanwhile, despite a spike in deaths from Monday to Tuesday, the rate of hospitalizations and new cases appeared to be flattening, leading Cuomo to predict that the state was either at the peak, or approaching the peak of the virus. What no one could say, however, is how long that peak might last.
While extending the closing of schools and non-essential businesses to April 29, and increasing fines for non-compliance with social distancing guidelines, he called for New Yorkers to be patient.
“It’s been 37 days,” Cuomo said on Tuesday. “I know it’s frustrating. But it’s only been 37 days....We are changing the curve. If we don’t do what we’re doing, that curve changes. Social distancing is working. We have to keep doing it.”
