General Motors, Ford and Tesla have all joined the fight against the coronavirus this week, announcing plans to leverage unused production capacity to manufacture life-saving ventilators. However, the much-needed ventilators may not arrive in time to make much of a difference, with New York governor Andrew Cuomo raising the alarm bells over ventilator supply issues during a Wednesday press conference.
“It does us no good if they start to create a ventilator in three weeks, or four weeks, or five weeks. We’re looking at an apex of 14 days,” Cuomo said, stressing the importance of tackling the coronavirus before the situation gets further out of hand.
According to CNBC, New York currently has about 3,000 to 4,000 ventilators on hand and has purchased 7,000 more from various suppliers. Cuomo estimates the state will need at least 30,000 ventilators within the next two weeks, however, which is when the virus is expected to reach its peak in North America.
Cuomo said the state is also experimenting with using one ventilator for two patients – a clear sign of medical workers’ desperation in New York City and surrounding areas.
“This is a critical and desperate need for ventilators,” he said. “We don’t have any other options. There’s no other way for us to get these ventilators. We’ve tried everything else.”
GM announced earlier this week that it would begin manufacturing Ventec ventilators on behalf of the medical supply company. Ventec CEO Chris Kiple said that GM would enable the company “to get more ventilators to more hospitals much faster,” but did not say how many ventilators it could contribute, nor how quickly it could produce them. Ford, for its part, has partnered with 3M and General Electric to produce similar ventilator devices.
GM has suspended production in the United States, Mexico and Canada as a result of the ongoing pandemic. Meanwhile, its Chinese plants slowly started back up after a two-month shutdown that began in January.
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Source/photo: CNBC, Wikimedia Commons
Comments
The governor does have a challenge on his hands but he is also been a little over the top alarmist.
He has taken a worst case look at everything. But now the number of hospitalizations were doubling like every two days on Sunday are now down to every 5 days as of yesterday. This means they may have peaked and they should be able to better deal with the task at hand.
The reality is there was no plan from anyone to have that many ventilators as this many were never imagined to be needed.
Much like in 1941 we had a number of Airplanes but the need grew beyond expectations and it took a little time to catch up with the numbers needed to defeat Germany.
Cuomo has done more to scare people and to run for office than anything else.
The Gov of Ohio Mike Dewine has been very proactive in his approach and no over the top complaining. He was one of the first to try to shut things down even long before the virus really was doing much here and it has helped.
He has been working more workman like vs politician and should be commended.
Because of his nature not to seek the spot light many will miss the good job he has done.
I was never a Dewine fan but I have to admit he has done a hell of a job.
It was to be the job of the White House Pandemic Panel to plan for the situation we are in today – before they were disbanded 3 years ago as being unneeded is today’s World. The President and the Congress can’t be expected to be medical futurists, and that’s why the panel was created. It’s was the height of arrogance to believe a pandemic wasn’t possible. My Dad used to tell me about the Spanish Flu pandemic – same thing “Can’t happen in today’s advanced society.” He almost died because he couldn’t see a doctor, let alone get medical care or medicine. The system was overwhelmed…sound familiar?
that is not true. it was combined with another division and the person who started this rumor was the one who lost her job . if it was true the press would be asking about it every day
The press has asked the question numerous times, only to have Trump go into one of his rants at the “nasty” reporter. Trump is a petulant man-child, who spends more time worrying about what shade of orange to wear, his comb-over, and his reelection then the Nation’s business.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-fire-pandemic-team/
……And then the feckless anonymous #Orangemanbad Representative arrives late on the scene with links to outed Left wing “fact” checkers…….
I thought Moss was supposed to be on the North side of a rock, not under it.
…….AND then the requisite name calling when the #Orangemanbad Lefty loons get challenged on their set of “facts”………
snopes is not a news source… and you’re an idiot for posting what ever tripe that is…
Of course it isn’t a news source. If you had read all of my comments for this thread you would have understood that I’m playing “poke the Trumper”. All you need is a sense of humor and a rage meter.
FYI the panel was not disbanded. It cut a bloated staff down to reasonable levels.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/16/no-white-house-didnt-dissolve-its-pandemic-response-office/
While this is not a good thing it is far from as bad as it could be or may be in the future.
THe greatest issue is China held back info that could have been helpful to stem the spread. But the cold harsh reality is there was no cure as there was so much unknown to make one quick. Hence the scramble today.
At this point most healthy people will be fine and most that die will be at risk people with other issues or smokers.
They will take this steps at a time as now it appears that once you have it you are clear of the virus. This will free up people to get back to life sooner. Some areas will be untouched while centers like NYC that should have locked down weeks ago is struggling.
Even in NY state the state had see a decline in cases doubling.
The greatest issue is there is so much bogus info out there and mixed political messages that they are not keeping the people informed properly.
The future will hold a bug that will be much worse than this and more will die. It may be months, years or centuries away but it will come no matter what you do.
But the earth and life continues to survive.
Thing is our great leader did away with pandemic panel in 17. Our great leader wasted away how many weeks saying the virus is a hoax. Now he takes no blame for anything even though he says he’s a president at War he really does nothing except point the finger at other people and say it’s their fault not mine
It’s was not disbanded that is false. It was moved into another department so it was all in one group. The story of it be disbanded is a media narritive just like guns killing someone.
Cuomo is an idiot and has been leading New York on a downward slide ever since he took office. A legend in his own mind only.
he should have been stockpiling ventilators instead of inviting illegals to come to live in NY. i wonder how many of the sick people are those illegals that are adding to his problem.
Cuomo probably would not be in desperate need for so many ventilators if he had the stockpile he was offered in 2015 but he declined to buy 16,000 ventilators for a future pandemic and spent the money elsewhere as always he plays the blame game.
Thank you very much GM for doing what you can to help us.
Live long New Yorker. Cuomo is a fraud who refused to prepare in 2015 by buying the needed supplies. He is great at giving a speech but is a control freak who drives out all good people around him. He just loves the spotlight . He is for whatever will make him get attention. He named a bridge after his dad, his head of staff went to jail for corruption . He is not a good governor. He may be one of the worst. NYS budget was billions in the red before all this. Most of it squandered .
Instead he passed “bail reform” for no violent offenders. The only problem is they defined “no violent offenders ” as someone who does not use a knife of gun in a crime. Throwing a grandma down the subway stairs , beating someone and breaking 2/3 of the bones in their body considered “non violent ” in NYS and gets no jail time before trial . What makes matters worse is that the criminals get the names and addresses of all victims and witnesses.
Crime is up 25 % since the law took effect + the 50% people just don’t bother to report. Houses get broken into every day on my formally safe block . People just stop reporting
Here’s how your GOD Obama & the Progressive Agenda driven “media” handled the last pandemic:
2009-10 H1N1 “Swine Flu”. 12,000+ deaths. 85% UNDER 65. Origin Mexico. NO Executive (Obama) action for 3 months after “discovery”. Then ANOTHER 6 months till Obama declares a “National Emergency”. That’s 9 flipping months of INCOMPETENSE Worshipers!!! Did we shut down the friggin economy then???
Did you even REMEMBER the H1N1 pandemic??? No you didn’t, because the Obama obsessed “media” BURIED it. Until well down the road when they couldn’t.
NO Politics with COVID_19 you say. My a$$!!!!
” INCOMPETENSE ” is spelled INCOMPETENCE oh irony. lol
AND then the FOCUS on perfect spelling & grammar from the overeducated “know it all because I have the internet” brain cramped lefty “Progressives” when they know their “facts” are really #fakenews. Like the latest of hundreds of examples happening last night that “a Midwest Hospital was now choosing who will live & who will die”………
Yes, Cuomo is all about what gets him media attention.
He has really screwed up the state in his nine years in office. It will take many years to correct the damage he has done. He is shooting off his big mouth about the Federal Government not giving him enough money for this, but he just wants the money to cover the $6 Billion deficit he created, with all his patronage positions that he filled with his “Friends.”
The man came into office explaining that he was going to clean-up the corruption in Albany, and all he did was bring it to new heights.
Now he has sights on running for President. As much as we want to get him out of New York State, don’t let him do to the country what he did to NY.
Most people in NY cannot stand Cuomo. He’s very dramatic and likes to make things a lot worse than they are. In his mind he is the only person that is correct and thinks the rest of us are to stupid to understand . No one could be prepared for what is happening with this virus. If you could predict the future you would be a very wealthy person and we would not have any problems in the first place.
As a Westerner, I’m sick and tired of Como and his constant whining and begging for New York as if it was the only place in the world with WUHNAN VIRUS. Sure, they have a problem but not the only one, California is right there with them but Governor Loathesome doesn’t know what to do about it except look after his Illegal friends.
these illegal is what got them in trouble because the governors were just trying to give trump the middle finger and now they need him. i am sure that illegals add to the numbers of people with the virus.
Yes a lot of NEW YORK people hate King Cuomo. Especially if they live away from NYC. If he would have grown some cahunas and quarantined or sheltered in place ALL of the NYC area it wouldn’t be as bad as it is. BUT “NO” he said, if I do it it will be ALL of New York. Cuomo needs to take the blame for NOT doing what he should have. Even as I am writing this the Miami Mayor is implementing a curfew for most folks living there. Also too little too late. That horse has ALSO left the gate.
This is a perfect example of where in hindsight is 2020 as Governor Cuomo had the opportunity to buy ventilators at high volume; but Cuomo thought what is the chance that the state of New York could need thousands of these devices and said he (and the state of New York would pass); if Cuomo bought the devices then, he wouldn’t need to decide on who lives and who dies.. Cuomo is now forced to use an old Malaria drug Chloroquine to treat the Coronovirus.
Cuomo needs to lock down his high illness areas and stop the travel out of them. He has half the cases now do to letting people travel and now they are going to Florida.
Maybe instead of blaming someone, understand that it’s an act of nature and yes hindsight is 20/20, but in no governor’s mind was this type of outbreak or the need for 30,000 ventilators. Also, the United States has 12 naval battlegroups, meaning 12 aircraftcarriers, associated planes, submarines, other ships etc etc. Perhaps after this we make due with 11 and use the savings to focus on other threats to us, including vital and bacterial….
30,000 freaking ventilators?!!!? WTH kind of death toll are we expecting out of NYC?????? Cuomo infamous for the outrageous statements & running for Prez and will step right in when everyone finally discovers Biden has early Dementia.
King Cuomo won’t beat TRUMP either. Just have to bring up his HIGHLY taxed state with thousands leaving and can’t forsee debt with the $6 plus BILLION in the hole. And he rants ALL the time that he isn’t getting enough money from the stimulus. Wait, isn’t $40 billion enough, plus more money can be had. He claims he cut taxes but we that live in NY know The KING calls them “FEES” just so he doesn’t have to call them taxes. And it’s fee after fee.
Andy-Boy would have bought them if it was one of his Friends selling them, and he would have gotten a cut of the profits. He should be in jail for all his corrupt actions.