Hospitals face severe shortage of ventilators amid COVID-19 outbreak
Thousands of ventilators from the U.S. stockpile are not operational, reports say; CEO of American Association for Respiratory Care, Tom Kallstrom weighs in on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday his state will send 500 state-owned ventilators to New York and other states across the country in need of additional medical supplies and equipment due to the large number of coronavirus cases in their areas.
On Monday, Newsom said that states like New York are experiencing immediate supply shortages as a result of COVID-19, and that California would loan 500 ventilators to the Strategic National Stockpile inventory.
WASHINGTON STATE RETURNS 400 VENTILATORS FOR US IN NEW YORK
“California is stepping up to help our fellow Americans in New York and across the country who are being impacted the hardest right now by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Newsom said in a statement.
“We still have a long road ahead of us in the Golden State – and we’re aggressively preparing for a surge – but we can’t turn our back on Americans whose lives depend on having a ventilator now,” he continued. “We’re meeting this moment with compassion.”
He added: “I know that if the tables were turned and we were experiencing a hospital surge, other states would come to our aid and provide ventilators just as we are today.”
Newsom’s office also said Monday that California is continuing their preparations for a possible COVID-19 surge in the state by securing thousands of beds in alternate care facilities, protecting the homeless population and purchasing critical medical equipment. The state also launched new programs to help to recruit health care professionals.
As of Monday morning, California reported more than 15,000 positive cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 350 deaths.
California is not the first state to donate critical medical equipment to the national stockpile. Washington state returned more than 400 of the 500 ventilators it received from the federal government so that they can be used in New York, which has become the epicenter of the virus in the U.S., and other states fighting COVID-19.
"I’ve said many times over the last few weeks: We are in this together,” Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday. “This should guide all of our actions at an individual and state level in the coming days and weeks.”
The virus has exploded in New York, where it has infected 123,160 people, killing 4,159 of them as of Monday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the weekend repeated his state’s need for more ventilators even as New York recorded its first daily drop in deaths.
In Washington, there have been 7,984 cases and 343 deaths. Inslee has earned praise from the White House coronavirus task force for his state’s early actions to limit the virus’ spread, which health experts say prevented spikes in cases and deaths seen in New York and other states.
As of Monday, the U.S. reported nearly 339,000 positive cases of coronavirus and more than 9,600 deaths.
Fox News' Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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