‘A bullet train’: Virus peak may come soon, swamp hospitals

Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded his most dire warning yet about the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, saying the infection rate in New York is accelerating and the state could be as close as two weeks away from a crisis that sees 40,000 people in intensive care.

Such a surge would overwhelm hospitals, which now have just 3,000 intensive care unit beds statewide.

The rate of new infections, Cuomo said, is doubling about every three days. While officials once projected the peak in New York would come in early May, they now say it could come in two to three weeks.

“We are not slowing it. And it is accelerating on its own,” he said during a briefing at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. “One of the forecasters said to me we were looking at a freight train coming across the country. We’re now looking at a bullet train.”

New York officials have been racing to essentially double their hospital capacity to up to 110,000 beds. Cuomo now said there could be a peak need of 140,000 beds.

There were more than 25,000 positive cases in New York state and at least 210 deaths, according to state figures. Most of the cases and deaths have been in New York City, an emerging worldwide hotspot in the outbreak.

New York officials are planning to add at least 1,000 temporary hospital beds at the Javits Center for non-COVID-19 patients and thousands of beds elsewhere. But Cuomo said “they’re nowhere near” the number that will be needed. The state also faces shortages of ventilators and protective equipment for medical workers.

New York has 7,000 ventilators. Cuomo called for a national push to send ventilators to New York now, saying the city needs 20,000 of them in a matter of weeks. He said the equipment could then be redeployed to different areas once the peak passes in New York.

“I will take personal responsibility for transporting the 20,000 ventilators anywhere in this country that they want, once we are passed our apex,” Cuomo said. “But don’t leave them sitting in a stockpile.”

Peter Pitts, a former associate commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration and president of the New York-based Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, said that ventilators—about the size of two old VCR machines—are certainly portable. But he said there would need to be a regional or national coordinator of medical products “to make sure that the goods needed are where they need to be.”

THE TOLL

The death toll from COVID-19 has left people in mourning around the state.

In Brooklyn, Dez-Ann Romain, 36, principal of a school for students who had struggled in traditional high schools, was remembered as a dedicated educator who gave her all to her students and staff.

In the Albany area, 92-year-old technology pioneer Walter Robb died just days after being admitted to the hospital with a severe cough and being put on a respirator. Robb had spent years working at General Electric Co., pushing advancements in imaging equipment used in health care.

Alan Finder, a former reporter at The New York Times, was remembered for his decency and kindness. Current Times reporter Kevin Sack said on social media that Finder was a terrific reporter, a calming presence and one of the “menschiest” guys around.

PROSECUTOR TESTS POSITIVE

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Newsday.

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