Chinese Government donates 1,000 Ventilators to New York State

1,000 ventilators arrived at JFK Airport from China. Photo courtesy of The Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo
1,000 ventilators arrived at JFK Airport from China. Photo courtesy of The Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo

Sourced from the Associated Press

Matthew Ellis reports from The Edge Newsroom

The New York governor said Saturday the Chinese government was facilitating a shipment of 1,000 donated ventilators to his state, highlighting the extreme measures leaders are taking in what has become a cutthroat scramble to independently secure enough lifesaving devices during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a sign of the disorganized response to the global crisis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised the Chinese government for its help in securing the shipment of the breathing machines that was scheduled to arrive at Kennedy Airport on Saturday, while acknowledging that the U.S. government’s stockpile of medical supplies would fall drastically short.

“We’re all in the same battle here,” Cuomo said, noting that the state of Oregon also volunteered to send 140 ventilators to New York. “And the battle is stopping the spread of the virus.”

Leaders like Cuomo have been forced to go outside normal channels and work with authoritarian governments and private companies. The rush to secure supplies has prompted intense squabbling between the states and federal government at a moment the nation is facing one of its gravest emergencies.

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