NYC Hotels May Become Hospitals To Cope With Coronavirus

NEW YORK CITY – Hotels in the city could be converted into makeshift hospitals as a way to cope with the anticipated surge of New Yorkers suffering from the new coronavirus.

Governor Andrew Cuomo had an off-the-record conference call with representatives of hotel chains over the weekend, according to somebody who was part of the conversation.

He wanted to know if it would be possible to take over the spaces and how quickly they could be re-fitted, the person, who declined to give more detail, said.

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Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio have repeatedly expressed concern that the city's hospitals could be completely overwhelmed if the crisis continues to grow. As of Monday, there were 463 positive cases in the city, and de Blasio has said he expects it to top 1,000 within days.

Cuomo said Monday that he is mobilizing the National Guard in the state to seek facilities that could be converted into emergency hospitals. He wants to create an additional 9,000 beds statewide, he said.

De Blasio on Sunday night talked about tents being used to house hospitals. "We are constantly building out medical facilities and creating them where they've never been before," he said Monday.

"The State will organize the National Guard and work with building unions and private developers to find existing facilities, such as dormitories and former nursing homes, that can most easily be converted to medical facilities, with the goal of creating an additional 9,000 beds," Cuomo said.

In Italy, the hospital system has been so overwhelmed by cases that doctors do not have space for patients. In China, two new hospitals were built in a matter of days in Wuhan to keep up with the number of cases.

City councilman Stephen Levin, who represents parts of Brooklyn, said Monday that large event spaces such as Madison Square Garden or the Jacob K. Javits Center could be repurposed to handle non-emergency coronavirus patients who would otherwise flood hospital emergency rooms.

Requests from Patch for comment about the hotel proposal were not returned by Cuomo's office Monday.

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