Upstate New York has begun moving its hospital staff to downstate hospitals to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.

Health workers from upstate hospitals are transferring downstate as the spread of the novel coronavirus puts increasing pressure on the hospital system in New York City and the surrounding suburbs, Cuomo said in a daily briefing. The state does not have exact numbers on how many upstate staff have transitioned downstate so far, he said.

“This is one state, this is one family,” Cuomo said. “We support one another.”

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease. New York state has confirmed 83,712 cases of the virus as of Wednesday afternoon, and 1,941 people have died, Cuomo said.

Of the state’s confirmed cases,12,226 patients are currently hospitalized, and 3,022 are in intensive care, Cuomo said. Though the number of new hospitalizations has decreased since yesterday, the overall trend continues to show an increase, he said.

Downstate hospitals that are over capacity may transfer patients to upstate hospitals in the future, although this would be a last resort, Cuomo said. One patient has already transferred from a downstate hospital to Albany Medical Center, but it was a “one-off situation,” Cuomo said.

The Department of Health will coordinate future patient transfers, he said.

Cuomo also said he would consider transferring upstate police officers and firefighters as a last resort to replace those in New York City who contract COVID-19. Though state police would be the first replacements for officers who become sick, the state could also deputize upstate officers to serve in New York City, Cuomo said

The New York Police Department needs to become more aggressive in enforcing social distancing measures, Cuomo said. Over 47,400 of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state are concentrated in New York City.

“If you’re going to force me into a position where I have to mandate it and make it a law, a social distancing law––which I think is absurd––but it has to be enforced,” Cuomo said. “Who else has to die for you to understand you have a responsibility in this?”

Cuomo presented several models forecasting the impact COVID-19 may have on New York state. One model he presented –– from a group that the Gates Foundation sponsors –– predicted 16,000 New Yorkers will die from COVID-19 before the pandemic ends.

Most scenarios the state is evaluating shows the height of the outbreak arriving in late April, Cuomo said. High compliance with social distancing measures will reduce the severity of this peak, drastically reducing the number of hospital beds and ventilators the state will need to endure it, Cuomo said.

“That is what we want, because this all comes down to, at the apex, can your hospital system manage that volume of people,” Cuomo said.

Published on April 1, 2020 at 8:32 pm

Contact Chris: cjhippen@syr.edu