New York City Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), in a viewpoint piece released in The New york city Times on Sunday, contacted President Donald Trump to use the military to broaden healthcare facility capability as the coronavirus continues to spread out throughout the United States.

Cuomo cautioned that the U.S. needs to take substantial action now or run the risk of experiencing an even worse scenario than what is unfolding in Italy, which has actually seen its healthcare system entirely overwhelmed in the middle of the pandemic.

“You must anticipate that, without immediate action, the imminent failure of hospital systems is all but certain,” Cuomo composed. “Ask your experts, how many intensive-care beds do we need for our vulnerable populations, and how many do we have now?”

There have actually been more than 1,600 verified cases of coronavirus in the U.S. with a minimum of 41 deaths. Those numbers are anticipated to jump as access to screening boosts over the next couple of weeks.

U.S. health authorities alert that numerous thousands, if not millions, of Americans might be hospitalized by COVID-19, the illness brought on by the coronavirus, over the next a number of months.

“This would crush the nation’s medical system,” Cuomo composed.

There’s approximately simply 2.8 healthcare facility beds per 1,000 individuals in the U.S., according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Advancement.

In New york city state alone, which has a population of about 20 million, there are 53,470 healthcare facility beds, just 3,186 of which are intensive-care beds, according to Cuomo.

“States cannot build more hospitals, acquire ventilators or modify facilities quickly enough,” he composed. “At this point, our best hope is to utilize the Army Corps of Engineers to leverage its expertise, equipment and people power to retrofit and equip existing facilities — like military bases or college dormitories — to serve as temporary medical centers. Then we can designate existing hospital beds for the acutely ill.”

He added that setting in motion the Army Corps of Engineers would be legal in this scenario due to the fact that Trump has actually currently stated a national emergency situation in action to the coronavirus. This action enables the federal government to designate particular funds and gets rid of some legal barriers.

“Doing so still won’t provide enough intensive care beds,” Cuomo stated of tapping the military for aid, “but it is our best hope.”

The Democratic guv likewise prompted Trump to decrease guideline of COVID-19 tests and license states to take more control of the procedure. He likewise contacted the president to develop a “uniform federal standard for when cities and states should shut down commerce and schools, or cancel events.”

The White House did not instantly react to HuffPost’s ask for comment.

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