Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


US Braces for Worst COVID-19 Weeks

Fern Robinson

   VOA NEWS - "It's only been 30 days since our first case,"
   battle-fatigued New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday about the
   COVID-19 outbreak that has invaded his state. "It feels like an entire
   lifetime."

   New York is the U.S. state hardest hit by the coronavirus, where it has
   claimed more than 3,500 lives. Public health experts say the situation
   is about to get worse, not only for New York, but for the rest of the
   United States as well.

   While Cuomo said the state is about seven days away from its apex of
   the health crisis, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Saturday that the
   U.S. would soon face its hardest two weeks with the virus.

   "There's going to be a lot of death," Trump said.

   U.S. hospitals have been fighting the coronavirus battle with a
   woefully inadequate arsenal. Hospitals have been pleading for
   ventilators for their patients and the protective gear that doctors and
   other medical workers wear to prevent passing the disease back and
   forth between themselves and their patients.

   New York received a shipment of 1,000 ventilators Saturday from China.
   "This is a big deal and it's going to make a significant difference for
   us," Cuomo said.

   Cuomo also said 85,000 volunteers are helping New York combat the virus
   and that he will sign an executive order allowing medical students
   slated to graduate this spring to graduate early and start practicing.

.