NYC's Cry For Help Sees 1k Retirees Step Up To Fight Coronavirus

NEW YORK CITY – The cavalry is coming. A plea for help made on behalf of a city desperate for medical aid has been answered by 1,000 retired health care professionals.

As New York City's hospitals face being overwhelmed by patients suffering from the new coronavirus, the retirees didn't hesitate to rush back into service.

"In the last 24 hours, 1,000 New Yorkers who are retired medical personnel have volunteered to join the effort to fight coronvirus," the mayor said on WCBS Wednesday night.

"I think that's so inspiring, so many people are coming forward to help and that's how we're going to beat this back."

The mayor and Governor Andrew Cuomo have said openly that New York is facing a crisis of medical care as cases of the coronavirus mount.

As well as retirees, Cuomo has contacted the state's medical schools, asking for qualified faculty members and students to join the fight.

Altogether, volunteers numbered 1,746 on Thursday, de Blasio said.

"They're going to have to work in battlefield conditions," the mayor said.

"I asked people who've already given so much to step forward."

A Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds has also been directed to moor in New York Harbor, though it's unknown how long it will take to arrive.

As of March 19, there were 2,382 cases diagnosed in New York City, Cuomo said. The city has reported 19 deaths.

The expected peak is in about 45 days and the state will need between 55,000 and 110,000 hospital beds, Cuomo said.

NYC Hospitals Lack Beds For Expected Coronavirus Cases

"There is a curve," Cuomo said. "I've said that curve is going to turn into a wave and the wave is going to crash on the hospital system."

The state needs between 18,000 and 37,000 ICU beds, equipped with ventilators which are proving difficult to procure, he said.

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