New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has consistently praised President Trump for his response to the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. and for "having the backs" of New Yorkers. But, one consistent complaint from the governor has been that the federal government has failed to send them the amount of ventilators they need to service COVID-19 patients in the state. When FEMA sent 400 ventilators to New York last month, Cuomo clapped back that they needed about 29,600 more.
“You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators?" he said at the time. "You’re missing the magnitude of the problem.”
Trump was skeptical that Cuomo needed as many as he was demanding.
We're now in the middle of April, and the governor is proud to announce that the situation in New York has stabilized to the point where they feel comfortable sharing excess ventilators with neighboring states.
NYC now giving away ventilators pic.twitter.com/DYYfwj2OBs
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) April 15, 2020
New York will be sending ventilators to other states now that its coronavirus response is stabilizing. 100 will go to Michigan and 50 to Maryland.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 15, 2020
"We will be there for you," Cuomo says https://t.co/9T8aUPjUrs pic.twitter.com/pJcL7crN9V
"We've stabilized our health care situation," Cuomo explained at a Wednesday press briefing.
Thanks to their improved situation, Cuomo said that New York will now be sending 100 ventilators to Michigan, and 50 to Maryland, two states which are beginning to experience an overwhelming amount of cases.
We could use this is as an "aha!" moment and prove that Cuomo was way off base with his initial demands. But it may be more apt to keep those criticisms at bay and just celebrate this as a win that the hospitalizations in New York are beginning to level out. And it was a generous thing for Cuomo to part with the machines once he realized they'd no longer be needed in the Empire State.
At a recent White House coronavirus task force briefing, President Trump made the point that we are building ventilators faster than we can use them, but that just means we can either keep them in the federal stockpile God forbid something like this ever happens again, or we can gift them to other countries.
While the situation in New York has stabilized, citizens aren't out of the woods yet. Cuomo announced a few new guidelines on Wednesday, including the mandate that New Yorkers must wear face masks in public when it's not possible to stay at least six feet apart.
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