Temporary hospitals are to open in New York as positive COVID-19 cases continue to grow. Adam Harding reports.
New York City has turned over Central Park in the fight against the coronavirus.
Over the weekend, crews started the construction of long, white medical tents in the park's East Meadow lawn. On Sunday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he expected the 68-bed emergency field hospital to open Tuesday.
The field hospital, specially designed as a respiratory care unit, is a partnership between Samaritan's Purse and Mount Sinai Health System, the mayor and a spokesperson for Mount Sinai announced.
Additional doctors, nurses, lab techs and other support staff will be dispatched to run the field hospital, Samaritan's Purse said.
New York City remains one of the epicenter's to the nation's fight against the coronavirus. As of 6:30 p.m. Sunday, 33,474 people in New York City had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and 776 people had died.
That total includes 6,250 in the Bronx, 8,887 in Brooklyn, 5,582 in Manhattan, 10,737 in Queens, 1,984 on Staten Island and 35 from "unknown" locations, the data shows. Forty five percent of those who tested positive were under the age of 45.
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On Monday, the USNS Comfort is set to arrive with 1,000 additional medical beds. The Navy hospital ship also brings to the city 12 operating rooms and a full medical staff.
