Coronavirus in the USA – New York is new epicenter: “worst is yet to come”

The corona cases in the USA are increasing sharply – New York is particularly affected. Those responsible make urgent appeals to the citizens and to President Trump.

The New York City Mayor now appears day in and day out on CNN to show the nation just how worsening the situation in his metropolis is. On Monday, Bill de Blasio put it this way: If his hospitals did not get additional ventilators this week, “then we will lose lives”.

The mayor knows that New York’s capacities will soon be exhausted. The corona virus is spreading rapidly in the nine million metropolis. On Monday afternoon (local time) more than 12,000 cases had already been detected – the number of unreported cases was unknown.

The coronavirus crisis is spreading rapidly in the United States. Around 100 million Americans now live under a more or less strict form of curfew. After China and Italy, the Americans have the third most cases to complain about. The three states hardest hit are Washington State and California on the west coast, and primarily New York on the east coast.

Tens of thousands of beds are missing

Every second American identified as being infected lives in New York State. 115 residents there have already died of Covid-19. According to the statements of those responsible, health care is facing excessive demands. New York City is the most densely populated city in the United States – this is obviously favoring the spread of the coronavirus. On a typical day, five million passengers use the subway.

View of the Empire State Building and Lower Manhattan: nowhere else do so many Americans live in one place. (Source: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)

Day after day, the governor of the state and the mayor of New York City are making urgent appeals to their citizens – but also to the federal level, to finally send them help.

In his daily crisis press conference, Governor Andrew Cuomo warned of a “wave” that would hit the health system and would soon “break”. Cuomo has been sounding the alarm for weeks. Unlike US President Donald Trump, the Democrat never belittled the extent of the crisis. New York is lacking tens of thousands of beds, according to Cuomo. There is also a shortage of protective clothing and masks.

Governor Andrew Cuomo: The Democrat makes a name for himself as a crisis manager. (Source: Mike Segar / Reuters)

Cuomo ordered the hospitals to increase their bed capacity by at least 50 percent. He received 30,000 responses to a call to retired doctors and nurses to return to the service. First aid comes from the federal government: An emergency hospital is being set up in the Javits conference center in Manhattan with the help of the Fema disaster control agency. 2,000 beds are to be available there in the future.

“Insensitive, arrogant, self-destructive”

The US Navy will dispatch its Comfort ambulance, which also has 1,000 beds – but it will be weeks before it arrives in New York harbor ready for use.

But none of that might be enough. Last Tuesday, Coumo said his state needed ten times as many intensive care beds as there are currently.

Empty Times Square in Manhattan: New York is under curfew. (Source: Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

On Monday, Cuomo severely criticized those residents of the metropolis who disregarded extensive curfews. “It’s insensitive, arrogant, self-destructive and disrespectful to others,” he said, “and it has to stop.” He’s been putting pressure on his fellow party member, Mayor de Blasio, to take tougher measures for a long time.

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“We are now the epicenter”

Pictures of abandoned sights like Times Square have been making the rounds for days. The tourists have disappeared. The schools are also tight. But at the weekend, numerous New Yorkers were also out and about in groups. Playgrounds and parks are still open.

Sundays in Manhattan: Citizens come to Central Park despite the corona virus. (Source: Eduardo Munoz / Reuters)

All “unnecessary” shops and companies in New York have been closed since Sunday evening, with exceptions for pharmacies, supermarkets and car repair shops. Reports of infected people are also increasing in prisons – ex-Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, who has been convicted of sexual assault, is also affected.

De Blasio is now adopting a tone similar to Cuomo: “In New York City we are now the epicenter of the crisis in the United States.” He warned that the situation would worsen. “The worst is yet to come. April will be much worse than March. And I’m afraid May could be worse than April.”

De Blasio repeatedly attacks US President Trump, who until recently lived in New York, for his failure to provide assistance. Trump “don’t lift a finger for his hometown,” complained the mayor last on Sunday on television.

Soldiers disinfect a school in the New Rochelle suburb: those in charge are pushing for the army to be deployed on a large scale. (Source: Andrew Kelly / Reuters)

De Blasio and Cuomo want the same things from the federal government, despite their conflicts: Trump should order the large-scale deployment of the military so that soldiers relieve the hospitals. In addition, the president is to apply a law by which the federal government can force companies to produce ventilators, masks and other medical supplies at fixed prices.

“If the president does not act,” said de Blasio, “people who otherwise could have survived will die.”

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