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A26 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 25 March 2020

People practice social distancing as they sit on chairs spread
apart in a waiting area for take-away food orders at a shopping
mall in hopes of preventing the spread of the coronavirus in
Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, March 24, 2020.
Associated Press
U.S. climate activists

to livestream Earth Commuters cross 42nd Street in front of Grand Central Terminal during morning rush hour, Monday,
March 23, 2020, in New York.
Associated Press
Day due to virus 'A bullet train': Virus peak may

By MARTHA IRVINE that are coordinating the
Associated Press event. come soon, swamp hospitals
CHICAGO (AP) — As the "We are really looking at
coronavirus causes shut- this as a way to reimagine
downs across the U.S., what a social movement By JOHN MINCHILLO and MARINA VILLE- called for a national push to send ventila-
a coalition of youth-led can look like in a digital NEUVE tors to New York now, saying the city needs
organizations that had age." Associated Press 20,000 of them in a matter of weeks. He
planned massive marches The first Earth Day, the NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the equipment could then be rede-
for the 50th anniversary of brainchild of the late Sen. sounded his most dire warning yet about ployed to different areas once the peak
Earth Day next month are Gaylord Nelson of Wiscon- the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, say- passes in New York.
now planning a three-day sin, happened in 1970 and ing the infection rate in New York is ac- "I will take personal responsibility for trans-
livestream event instead, sparked an environmental celerating and the state could be as close porting the 20,000 ventilators anywhere in
organizers said Tuesday. movement that led to the as two weeks away from a crisis that sees this country that they want, once we are
" Earth Day Live " will hap- creation of the Environ- 40,000 people in intensive care. passed our apex," Cuomo said. "But don't
pen April 22-24 and will in- mental Protection Agency Such a surge would overwhelm hospitals, leave them sitting in a stockpile."
clude speakers, voter reg- and many laws to protect which now have just 3,000 intensive care Peter Pitts, a former associate commis-
istration, protests against water, air and wildlife. unit beds statewide. sioner at the Food and Drug Administra-
financial institutions that While led by youth organi- The rate of new infections, Cuomo said, tion and president of the New York-based
support the fossil fuel indus- zations, including the Sun- is doubling about every three days. While Center for Medicine in the Public Interest,
try, and entertainment. rise Movement, Zero Hour officials once projected the peak in New said that ventilators — about the size of
The event will be accessible and Amazon Watch, the in- York would come in early May, they now two old VCR machines — are certainly
on computers and mobile vent is intended to be inter- say it could come in two to three weeks. portable. But he said there would need to
devices in the hopes that generational, with an eye "We are not slowing it. And it is accelerat- be a regional or national coordinator of
it will encourage engage- on building on momentum ing on its own," he said during a briefing medical products "to make sure that the
ment and action among from a massive global cli- at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Cen- goods needed are where they need to
people who are secluded mate march in September. ter. "One of the forecasters said to me be."
at home and who may Members of these groups we were looking at a freight train coming THE TOLL
have planned to march said they are very much fo- across the country. We're now looking at a The death toll from COVID-19 has left peo-
in Washington and other cused on the crisis at hand bullet train." ple in mourning around the state.
places. — the coronavirus — but New York officials have been racing to es- In Brooklyn, Dez-Ann Romain, 36, principal
"It's a time to really rethink they say climate change sentially double their hospital capacity to of a school for students who had struggled
our strategy," said Katie also will affect vulnerable up to 110,000 beds. Cuomo now said there in traditional high schools, was remem-
Eder, the 20-year-old ex- populations the most. could be a peak need of 140,000 beds. bered as a dedicated educator who
ecutive director of the Fu- "It's not just about the envi- There were more than 25,000 positive gave her all to her students and staff.
ture Coalition, one of nine ronment and the climate," cases in New York state and at least 210 In the Albany area, 92-year-old technol-
youth-led organizations said 17-year-old Naina deaths, according to state figures. Most of ogy pioneer Walter Robb died just days
Agrawal-Hardin, of the the cases and deaths have been in New after being admitted to the hospital with a
Sunrise Movement. York City, an emerging worldwide hotspot severe cough and being put on a respira-
"It's also about building a in the outbreak. tor. Robb had spent years working at Gen-
society and an economy New York officials are planning to add at eral Electric Co., pushing advancements
that's going to take care least 1,000 temporary hospital beds at the in imaging equipment used in health care.
of the people who've Javits Center for non-COVID-19 patients Alan Finder, a former reporter at The New
been affected by this cri- and thousands of beds elsewhere. But York Times, was remembered for his de-
sis, the people who are Cuomo said "they're nowhere near" the cency and kindness. Current Times re-
on the front lines of this cri- number that will be needed. The state also porter Kevin Sack said on social media
sis, whether that's through faces shortages of ventilators and protec- that Finder was a terrific reporter, a calm-
health care efforts or eco- tive equipment for medical workers. ing presence and one of the "menschiest"
nomic efforts."q New York has 7,000 ventilators. Cuomo guys around. q