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New York Gov. Says 1 Million More Health Care Workers Are Needed

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking health care workers to head to New York to help fight the coronavirus.
Posted at 1:27 PM, Mar 31, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-31 13:27:29-04

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is asking for urgent help to fight the croronavirus in the state, a hot spot in the nation for the virus.

"As governor of New York, I am asking health care professionals across the country: If you don't have a health care crisis in your community, please come help us in New York now. We need relief," he said.

Cuomo made the request to health care workers Monday as the state's death toll climbed from 250 to 1,200 in one day.

He said, "To me, we’re beyond staggering already. We’ve reached staggering."

The governor said that to fight the virus in the city, he would need an additional 1 million health care workers.

Before Cuomo even made the request, More than 80,000 former health care professionals had already stepped up to help. And on Monday, the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived in New York with 1,000 beds, 12,000 medical workers and a dozen operating rooms for non-coronavirus patients to help lessen the burden on local hospitals.