Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday said during a press conference he would sign an executive order allowing the government to seize unused ventilators in New York state and redistribute them to hospitals in need as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
“The National Guard are going to be deployed to pick them up across the state, and deploy them to places that we need them,” Cuomo said during a press conference on Friday.
He estimated that about several hundred ventilators would be redistributed.
“Am I willing to deploy the National Guard and inconvenience people for several hundred lives? he asked. “You’re damn right I am.”
Cuomo said the executive order would also apply to unused medical PPE.
“We are running out of ventilators and we could have people dying because there are no ventilators,” he said.
South Carolina fitness trainer’s autopsy raises more questions about mysterious death
Chaos erupts on American Airlines flight as unruly passenger allegedly bites fellow traveler midair
Olympian charged in Reflecting Pool vandalism tied to Dem fundraising giant
Obama-era inspection flaws in Iran could persist as experts warn of nuclear blind spots
Survey Report Shows 10x as Many Strong GOP Voters Are Sure of God Than Strong Dem Voters
Watch: Celebrating Colombians Fill Streets as Trump-Endorsed Candidate Takes Presidency
Daily on Energy: Hormuz traffic up, Interior cuts public comment, and Chevron powers huge Texas data center
AIPAC accuses Van Hollen of fanning ‘antisemitic tropes’ in new social media campaign
Watch: Emotional ‘Sharia Law Survivor’ Begs Schools to Keep Out Islamism, as Lib Teen Mocks Him Literally Behind His Back
Six prime ministers, nine lives: Downing Street’s ‘chief mouser’ Larry the cat outlasts another leader
NYT’s Gonna NYT: Paper Uses Father’s Day to Pretend Being Trans Can Make a Woman a ‘Father’
A timeline of Trump’s $14 million Reflecting Pool makeover
Cops could be forced into race-based guessing game after Supreme Court move, Thomas joins dissent
Judge rejects accused WHCA dinner shooter’s bid to disqualify Blanche and Pirro
Chicago’s deadly Juneteenth weekend leaves 7 dead as Trump shames Dem gov for inaction
Cuomo said he would issue the order to prevent people from dying.
“I’m just not going to allow us to go there, I think it would be wholly irresponsible,” he said, noting that upstate New York hospitals did not have as many cases.
Cuomo said that hospitals would get their seized ventilators back when the need was filled or the state would pay for them.
“I apologize for the hardship to those institutions, ultimately there is no hardship, if you don’t get the ventilator back, I give you my personal word I will pay you for the ventilator,” he said.
“Don’t use the word ‘seize,’” Cuomo said to reporters, calling it a “harsh word.”
“It’s sharing of resources,” he said.
Story cited here.
