NYC to run out of ventilators in days, mayor says

New York is days away from running out of essential equipment needed to keep hospitals running because of the coronavirus pandemic, the city’s mayor warns.

The Big Apple has the highest number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States and Bill de Blasio says the city’s hospitals are at breaking point.

“Bluntly, we’re about 10 days away now from seeing widespread shortages of ventilators, surgical masks, the things necessary to keep a hospital system running,” de Blasio told CNN.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio testifies during a joint legislative budget hearing on local government, February 11, 2019, in Albany, NY. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

He pleads with President Donald Trump to mobilize the military to help spur production and distribution of urgently needed medical supplies. “If we don’t get more ventilators in the next 10 days, people will die who don’t have to die. It’s as simple as that,” says de Blasio.

— AFP