NEW YORK (WKBW) — An order of 17,000 ventilators for New York State never came through, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Saturday.
Cuomo says the state signed documents and placed the order and then was told the order couldn't be filled.
In response to the need for ventilators, Cuomo said Friday an Executive Order will allow the New York National Guard to take unused equipment from private health care organizations and place them in hospitals that need them the most in New York City.
"I don't have an option," Cuomo said Friday. "I'm not going to get into a situation where we know we are running out of ventilators and we have people dying because we have no ventilators, but there are hospitals in other parts of the state that have ventilators they are not using."
Saturday, Cuomo said if you ask hospitals what ventilators they have unused and available and take 20 percent of that, he believes that is 500 ventilators. A number he called significant.
As part of his daily update Saturday Cuomo also announced China has donated 1,000 ventilators to New York State which are slated to arrive at JFK Saturday and the state of Oregon is also sending 140 ventilators to New York.
Cuomo will also sign an Executive Order allowing medical students slated to graduate in the spring, to begin practicing now.
