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Cuomo tells hospitals to recruit retired doctors NOW and warns second lockdown is possible as COVID hospitalizations soar to the same level as March 23 - and that's BEFORE all the Thanksgiving infections

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday told every hospital in the state of New York to start recruiting retired doctors and nurses now before they become overwhelmed as he revealed that hospitalizations have gone up from 850 in June to 3,552 now - and new infections from Thanksgiving have not yet revealed themselves. 

An entire shutdown - what he calls New York Pause - will happen if the hospital system becomes overwhelmed, he said. At the height of the pandemic in New York in April, there were more than 18,000 people in the hospital. 

Monday's number of hospitalizations is the same as it was on March 23 but Cuomo said hospitals are better equipped to handle the crisis now. On Sunday, 54 people died across the state of New York. The statewide COVID-19 test positivity rate is now 4.57 percent. 

Currently, the state is applying 'yellow, red and orange' zone rules to neighborhoods where there are surges. 

A red zone - the most severe - closes schools and non-essential businesses but keeps some open. On Monday, Cuomo said that he'd add 'PAUSE' as the most severe set of rules. It's unclear how it will differ from red zones.  

Cuomo, speaking at a press conference on Monday where he played Christmas music and showed graphics of the Grinch, said he wants to act now to avoid that happening again so is telling every hospital to plan now to add 50 percent to its capacity.

He also revealed that 65 percent of all new infections are coming from small gatherings in homes. Thanksgiving infections will reveal themselves over the next ten days, he said. Cuomo predicts that the situation is going to keep worsening until mid-January and that a vaccine won't have any widespread effect until the end of spring. 

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Cuomo is telling every hospital to plan now to add 50 percent to its capacity to be able to add more beds in addition to finding more staffing.

Cuomo is telling every hospital to plan now to add 50 percent to its capacity to be able to add more beds in addition to finding more staffing.  

While hospitalizations are going up, they are not at the rate yet they were at their worst

While hospitalizations are going up, they are not at the rate yet they were at their worst 

Every region of New York is seeing a surge in hospitalizations now. In the spring, the worst problem was in New York City

Every region of New York is seeing a surge in hospitalizations now. In the spring, the worst problem was in New York City

'We're in for round two. With any luck, round two will not be round one. I'm just sorry that we have to go through it again. 

'We have to settle in... we are now worried about overwhelming the hospital system. You will see  serious stress on the hospital system and we are still awaiting the post thanksgiving effect. 

'We don't know what the effect has been yet. We are seeing the rise all across the state. The first go around it was primarily New York City. We had upstate resources we could share.

'That is not the case this time- it is statewide. Literally every region is dealing with a hospital issue now. Look at those curves they are all going up at an alarming rate,' he said. 

He is telling every hospital to plan now to add 50 percent to its capacity to be able to add more beds in addition to finding more staffing. 

'Every hospital has to identify retired nurses and doctors now - staff just gets exhausted. They've had a horrendous year..to now go through this again..' he said. 

He added: 'We lived this nightmare, we learned from this nightmare and we're going to correct for the lessons we learned in this nightmare.' 

The situation in New York mirrors the nationwide increase. 

Paramedics wheel a patient into a hospital following the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 18, 2020. Hospitalizations are now the same number as they were on March 23

Mayor Bill de Blasio was Zoomed into the press conference on Monday. He is  reopening schools in NYC next week after receiving widespread criticism for closing them

Mayor Bill de Blasio was Zoomed into the press conference on Monday. He is  reopening schools in NYC next week after receiving widespread criticism for closing them

There are now more than 93,000 people in the hospital with COVID across America; a record high. One nurse described the escalating crisis as a 'natural disaster occurring in every state'.

New York's test positivity rate is comparatively low to other states - some have more than 40 percent - and is also below the national average of around 9 percent.

Cuomo on Monday said that while the situation will get worse, it is 'manageable'. 

'The good news is we know what we're dealing with this time in a way we did not know in the spring. We're better prepared and we're going to be smarter in the management of it.

'If you can keep the system balanced, that's one situation,' he said. 

Schools in New York City have been shut since November 19 but will reopen next week after Mayor Bill de Blasio received widespread backlash over the decision. 

Cuomo said on Monday that closing schools is one of the last things he will do because the infection rate is is so low among kids. 

'Is he going for another Emmy?' Gov Cuomo is ridiculed on Twitter for playing classic Christmas song Sleigh Ride and SINGING at press conference as he declares: 'COVID is the Grinch' 

 

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sparked uproar on Twitter by playing classic Christmas music and singing during his coronavirus briefing on Monday where he declared: 'COVID is the Grinch.'

An instrumental version of Sleigh Ride began playing over Cuomo's slideshow toward the beginning of the briefing as he listed off treasured holiday traditions - before a Grinch cartoon flashed up on the screen.

'This is the season of the COVID Grinch,' the governor said in a tone far less jolly than the bells and violins playing around him.

'The COVID Grinch is an opportunist and sees this as the season of viral transmission. When you hear that holiday music, think COVID Grinch and be on alert.'

Cuomo even briefly sang along to the music to emphasize his message that holiday activities will worsen the spread of coronavirus.

 

 

Twitter users seized on the bizarre display within minutes, with some branding it hilariously quirky while others found it inappropriate given the seriousness of the subject matter.

Critics accused Cuomo of focusing too much on entertainment value after winning an Emmy for his coronavirus press conferences, with one writing: 'Is he going for another Emmy?'  

Fox News meteorologist Janice Dean, who has been a Cuomo critic after her in-laws died in a nursing home, wrote: 'Cuomo is the Grinch. The Grinch that helped spread Covid into nursing homes and profited off their deaths by writing a book about leadership in the middle of a pandemic.'

Theater critic Nicole Serratone wrote: 'Cuomo somehow has holiday music playing over his COVID will kill you this season presentation. It is not the greatest sound mix I have ever encountered.'  

Cuomo called the virus the Grinch. He also played Christmas music at the beginning of Monday's press conference

Cuomo called the virus the Grinch. He also played Christmas music at the beginning of Monday's press conference 

'It's a natural disaster occurring in all 50 states at the same time': Leading physician gives stark assessment as post-Thanksgiving hospitalizations hit record 93,238

A leading physician gave a dire warning that the coronavirus is 'a natural disaster occurring in all 50 states at the same time' on Sunday, after millions passed through US airports for Thanksgiving against CDC advice.

Emergency medicine physician Dr. Megan Ranney sounded the alarm as the number of COVID-19 patients currently being treated in hospitals across the United States nearly doubled in the last month, hitting more than a record 93,000 over the Thanksgiving weekend, as virus deaths approach spring records.

Since Thanksgiving, the U.S. has seen more than 500,056 new coronavirus cases, with 138,903 people testing positive yesterday.

The U.S. death toll has risen to more than 266, and nearly 3.4 million cases of coronavirus. On Sunday, another 826 Americans died of coronavirus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, Dr Anthony Fauci warned that irresponsible Thanksgiving gatherings could lead to a 'surge superimposed upon that surge that we're already in', after roughly six million people passed through U.S. airports for the holidays.

Another expert - Dr. Peter Hotez, who specialises in tropical medicine and teaches molecular virology - also warned the network that the U.S. is approaching daily death figures that were seen during the Spanish Flu of 1918.

As of Sunday 93,238 Americans were hospitalized with the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The project said that other statistics, such as number of deaths, are being under-reported because many states have not been releasing numbers over the holiday weekend

As of Sunday 93,238 Americans were hospitalized with the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The project said that other statistics, such as number of deaths, are being under-reported because many states have not been releasing numbers over the holiday weekend

The number of COVID-19 patients currently being treated in hospitals across the US nearly doubled in the last month, reaching 93,238 on Sunday, according to the COVID Tracking Project

The number of COVID-19 patients currently being treated in hospitals across the US nearly doubled in the last month, reaching 93,238 on Sunday, according to the COVID Tracking Project 

'We're going to be regularly hitting 2,000 deaths per day, but then going up to 3,000 deaths and 4,000 deaths,' he said. 'The numbers that are approaching what we experienced in the 1918 flu pandemic, except it's happening over a much shorter period of time.

'This is going to be very destabilizing for the country, not only in terms of health, but also our economy, as well as our homeland security.'

April 15 saw the country reach its peak virus deaths for a single 24-hour period, with 2,752 people across the country reported to have succumbed to the virus. If Hotez's prediction is correct, then the U.S. is on track to break that grim record in the coming months.

As of Sunday 93,238 Americans were hospitalized with the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project.

Dr Ranney - who works at the Rhode Island Hospital and is an associate professor at Brown University - told CNN: 'There's no way that the hospitals can be fully prepared for what we're currently facing.

'This is like a natural disaster occurring in all 50 states at the same time. There are not adequate beds. There are not adequate staff. And because of the lack of national preparation, there are still not adequate supplies.'

She said in Rhode Island, plans are underway to open a field hospital on Tuesday because hospitals in the state are reaching their capacity of patients sick from the virus, but added that not every state has the same option.

'And even if you open a field hospital, if you have hundreds of staff who are sick - which is what many states across the country are currently facing - if you don't have nurses and doctors and respiratory techs, even a field hospital isn't going to save you,' she said.

'Our health care system is literally at the breaking point right now, thanks to Covid-19.'

The rate of hospitalizations - now at the highest level since the pandemic began - comes after weeks of rising infection rates nationwide, with 16 states reporting record seven-day averages for daily new cases on Thursday and Friday.

Doctors and health officials fear the US is in for a dark few weeks with cases and deaths expected to climb rapidly because of holiday gatherings and travel.

With many hospitals on the verge of exceeding capacity, many patients - including those without coronavirus - face the prospect of not being treated due to inadequate staffing and equipment.

Roughly six million people passed through U.S. airports, despite the CDC's travel warning in the week leading up to Thanksgiving, but it will be weeks before the true extent of the impact Thanksgiving travel will have on coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths.

Dr Celine Gounder, a member of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisory board, offered a grave warning about spikes on Saturday.

'We fully expect that in about a week or two after Thanksgiving we will see an increase in cases first, then about a week or two later you'll start to see an increase in hospitalizations, and then another week or two after that you'll start to see deaths,' Gounder told CBS News, noting that symptoms of the virus can develop up to 14 days after exposure.

'Unfortunately, that means that many people who celebrated with family, with friends over Thanksgiving will find themselves in the hospital, in ICUs over Christmas and New Years,' she added.

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