New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday said the state is looking to build four additional emergency hospital sites to deal with a surge in demand amid the expanding coronavirus outbreak.
He said officials were eyeing locations in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
“I’m going to ask the president today if he will authorize another four temporary hospitals for us,” Mr. Cuomo said.
Mr. Cuomo was speaking from the Javits Convention Center in New York City.
He said there were 44,635 positive coronavirus cases in New York, including 7,377 new cases.
He also said there were 519 coronavirus-related deaths — up from 385 he had reported on Thursday.
The state was already working with the federal government to set up makeshift hospitals at the Javits Center, SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old Westbury and the Westchester Convention Center in order to free up other bed space for COVID-19 patients.
The governor has also directed hospitals in the state to find a way to expand their capacity by 50%.
The existing bed space capacity in the state is 53,000 and Mr. Cuomo says the state could need 140,000 beds to handle the apex of the crisis, which he said could come in 21 days.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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