As we reported today, Coronavirus cases have surpassed 2 million around the globe, with the United States home to the most cases yet, with more than 600,000. Of all the States, New York has been the hardest hit, resulting a tug-of-war with Governor Andrew Cuomo and President Donald Trump, complete with name-calling and the blame game.
New York's tally is about to hit 200,000 cases, and with this, Governor Cuomo has just announced a new executive order to mandate that all NY residents wear a mask if they are out in public. This follows an about-face from the CDC's previous guidelines, when they did not necessarily advocate for the importance of wearing a mask-- they've since changed their tune.
Governor Cuomo announced the new measure to combat COVID-19 on twitter this afternoon. He said, "I am issuing an Executive Order today that all people MUST wear a mask or face covering in public in situations where social distancing is not possible."
We'll keep you posted on this new development.
Trump Doubts That New York Actually Needs 30,000 Ventilators
President Donald Trump questioned whether New York State really needs 30,000 ventilators amid shortages of medical supplies during the coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump was told by New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, that the state needed 30,000 ventilators, but Trump (literally) isn’t buying it. The U.S. president spoke to Fox News’s Sean Hannity over the phone on Thursday, where he addressed the shortages of medical supplies in New York amid the coronavirus pandemic. Trump was not shy about voicing his doubts on New York’s demand for equipment. “I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be,” he told Hannity. “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators.”
“You know you go into major hospitals sometimes they’ll have two ventilators,” he continued. “Now, all of a sudden, they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’” The statement comes after Governor Andrew Cuomo had requested exactly 30,000 ventilators for New York State—which has been hit hardest by the pandemic—and subsequently blasted the government for only sending a mere fraction of that number. “You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators?” Cuomo said in a press conference, enraged. He added that tens of thousands of New Yorkers are “going to die” as a result of Trump’s neglect, unless he really steps up and provides the supplies that the state needs. Trump told Hannity, however, that purchasing a ventilator is like buying a car—a “very expensive” and “very intricate” process. “And you know they’d say, like Governor Cuomo and others, they’d say ‘We want 30,000 of them’” Trump recounted. “Thirty thousand? Think of this, you know you go to hospitals that have one in a hospital and now all of a sudden everyone’s asking for these vast numbers.”
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
“Look, it’s a very bad situation,” Trump concluded. “We haven’t seen anything like it, but the end result is we gotta get back to work, and I think we can start by opening up some parts of the country.” Trump is already hoping that some Americans will be returning to work as early as Easter (April 12th), a decision that has been widely criticized as premature and irresponsible. Watch the full conversation with Trump on Fox News below:
Rihanna Donates Medical Equipment To New York State
Rihanna continues to ease the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic by donating personal protective equipment to New York State.
Rihanna is really out here saving the world. As necessary medical supplies like masks, gloves that protect individuals from becoming infected with the virus experience more and more shortages, health professionals are urging for donations of proper equipment. Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, revealed on Thursday that the multi-hyphenate mogul did just that, when he thanked Rih for donating personal protective equipment to New York State amid the coronavirus pandemic. New York has been hit the most hard by the virus out of any American state, so the donation was surely needed. "I want to thank @rihanna and the Rihanna Foundation for donating Personal Protective Equipment to New York State," Cuomo tweeted. "We're so appreciative of your help and that of so many others who have stepped up."
Rihanna has already been helping combat the pandemic in a number of ways. She gave approximately $700K worth of ventilators to her home country of Barbados, and donated an additional $5 million through her Clara Lionel Foundation to various organizations helping those most deeply impacted by coronavirus. The organizations she has supported thus far include Direct Relief, Partners In Health, Feeding America, the International Rescue Committee, and the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Her donated funds will "support local food banks serving at-risk communities and the elderly in the U.S., testing and care in Haiti and Malawi, the distribution of medical equipment, vaccine and therapy research and development, and healthcare training." Way to go, Rih.
