As the number of deaths from coronavirus in the United States surpassed 8,000, some state leaders said they’re still missing vital tools in their battle against the coronavirus. New York state, which has been desperately searching for ventilators, will receive 140 ventilators from Oregon, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday in a news conference. “This was unsolicited, but the 140 ventilators will make a difference,” Cuomo said, adding the gesture was both “kind” and “smart.” “We’re all in the same battle here,” the governor said. “And the battle is stopping the spread of the virus.”
At least 297,575 people in the United States have become infected and 8,098 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University’s running case count. New York is not the only state struggling with adequate equipment and supplies. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his state doesn’t even have enough tests to get a clear idea of the scale of the outbreak. Everything about the tests are very difficult to come by, and there’s no federal plan for this, so every state is on their own,” Pritzker said. “As I’ve said, it’s the Wild West out here.”
“We’re grateful for these supplies. But to be clear, we’ve gotten just 33% of what we’ve asked for, and they’ve told us not to expect more anytime soon,” he said. “This pandemic is a war,” he said. “And we need the armor to fight it.” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said the federal government must ramp up efforts for more personal protective equipment, or PPE, for health care workers, saying the state had received some but not all it had requested. “Governments at all levels, hospitals, law enforcement and others are competing against each other for a scarce amount of personal protective equipment,” Cooper said. –CNN
Comments
Post a Comment