A wave of coronavirus patients is causing severe shortages at hospitals, and federal aid is late to arrive.
Governors, mayors and front-line health care workers confronting rising numbers of critically ill coronavirus patients said Sunday they have not received meaningful amounts of federal aid, including the shipments of desperately needed masks and other emergency equipment that administration officials say they have already dispatched.
“We are desperate,” New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy told ABC Sunday morning. “We’ve had a big ask into the strategic stockpile in the White House. They’ve given us a fraction of our ask.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer echoed that urgency, saying her state’s hospitals are dealing with about 800 confirmed cases of the virus — up from only one just 12 days ago — and are struggling with serious shortages of both test kits and protective equipment for medical workers. The shortages have forced hospitals to adopt risky practices like reusing masks and having staff wear bandannas when no mask is available.
“We’ve gotten no indication of any factory on 24/7 shifts. We’ve gotten no shipments,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on NBC. “I can’t be blunt enough: If the president does not act, people will die who could have lived otherwise.”
Though Trump signed the defense act last week, Gaynor confirmed that the administration has yet to use it to order any companies to manufacture more products. He suggested such a step wasn’t necessary as companies are already stepping up.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/22/state-leaders-trump-administration-mask-shipments-141884