Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Amid Ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, Governor Cuomo Announces State Department of Health Has Approved New Protocol To Allow BiPAP Machines To Be Converted Into Ventilators

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo earlier today announced the State Department of Health has approved Northwell's protocol allowing BiPAP machines to be converted into ventilators. The State has purchased 3,000 BiPAP machines from Philips in Pittsburgh, and 750 machines are already in stock and will be distributed to hospitals. The State has already taken a number of extraordinary measures to acquire more ventilators and build the State's stockpile, including tracking where all the ventilators are located in New York and shifting their locations to meet the highest need and ending elective surgeries. If necessary, hospitals may also use anesthesia machine ventilators or use a "splitting" protocol where one ventilator is used for two patients using separate tubes.

Governor Cuomo also announced the State has begun conducting a hospital-by-hospital survey on a nightly basis to take inventory of every hospital's supplies. Additionally, all hospitals are being asked to contribute the supplies they don't currently need to a central stockpile to be distributed to hospitals with the greatest need.

VIDEO of the Governor's remarks is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here, with ASL interpretation available on YouTube here and in TV quality format here.

AUDIO of today's remarks is available here.

PHOTOS are available on the Governor's Flickr page.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. Good to see all of you. All smiling faces. Most of them smiling faces. Let's give you an update as to where we are today. The number of cases continues to increase. We're up to 79,017. The number of people tested again is the highest rate in the country and per capita higher than China, per capita higher than South Korea. We tested 18,000 people. Total tested 238,000, which is a lot of people but remember New York, you're talking on a basis of 19 million. Number of positive cases up to 86,069; 92,000 total in the State.

Predominantly in New York City, but you see Westchester and Nassau which, by percentage, is a troubling number. Remember New York City is so much larger than Westchester, Nassau or Suffolk. Those numbers are concerning and we're watching those. You can see it in Nassau County, 1,000 new cases. Suffolk County 1,141 new cases. That is troubling news.

Number of counties, you see the entire State, every county in the State now has reported a coronavirus case. We said it was going to march across the State. I've also made the point to my colleagues, every phone call I do with the governor's, the other officials. I say it's going to march across this country. It is false comfort to say, "Well, we're a rural community. We don't have the density of New York City." That is a false comfort. You have counties in New York State where you have more cows than people. New York State - don't think of just New York City. Upstate New York is a rural community and you see that it's just not urban areas. It's suburban areas, that's Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, comparable to suburban communities all across this country. And we have rural communities that are comparable to rural communities all across this country. In many ways, New York State is a microcosm of the United States and that's why I believe it's going to be illustrative for the rest of this nation as to what's going to happen.

Current hospitalizations: As I said, 92,000 tested positive; 13,000 currently hospitalized. That's up 1,100. Three thousand ICU patients that's up 300; 7,400 patients discharged that's up 1,292. That's good news. Number of people going into the hospitals going up. Number of people coming out of the hospital is going up. Number of deaths, up to 2,373. Up from 1,941. Looking for a trend line. The trend line is still basically up. Total new hospitalizations, trend line of ICU admissions is still up. Certainly a couple of small deviations but the line is up. Number of intubations is up, but if you want to take an optimistic view, you could start to see a plateauing in the number of intubations. The statisticians tell me that's an optimistic view.

Number of daily discharges is going way up. That's people going in, people going out. Challenge is still at the apex. That's what this is been all about for every system in this country now. Everyone is basically waging the same battle. Different time frames, different numbers, different percentages, but it's the same battle. When you hit the apex, which is the highest rate of infection, highest number of people coming into the hospital system, can you handle that number? Can you handle the height of the impact on the hospital system, which is at the apex of the curve? We call that the battle of the mountaintop. At least I call it the battle of the mountaintop.

Questions people keep asking, which are the right questions. "Well when is the apex?" It depends on what model you use, what model you follow. We follow all the models. It's anywhere from 7 to 21 to 30 days depending on what model you look at. "Well how can you have that variable? Seven to 30 days." It depends on how that model rates how effective social distancing is. The variable is the models that think social distancing is going to be more effective at slowing the rate, have a longer time frame for the apex. Those models that discount the social distancing, they have a shorter time frame for the apex. It makes it difficult to plan, frankly, because 7 to 30 days is a long window. We are literally planning on a day-to-day basis. Deploying assets on a day-to-day basis. We believe it is closer to the shorter end of the range with our in-house people looking at the professional modeling that's being done.

How many beds will you need at the apex? Between 70,000 and 110,000. Again, that is a broad range. Again, that's one of the frustrations, trying to plan for this. Right now we have 53,000 statewide. We have only 36,000 downstate. Remember that, this is a primarily a downstate issue. So by any estimate, we don't have the number of beds. But again, we've taken extraordinary measures. Every hospital by mandate, has to add a 50 percent increase and they have all done that. We're setting up extra facilities, which we've been talking about. We've been shifting patients from downstate hospitals to upstate hospitals and that is continuing. When does this end? You have projection models that have us hitting the apex, coming down from the apex; models vary at how quickly you come down from the apex, but they all basically say you come down from the apex quickly. And then some models have it flattening out, but flattening out for a period of time. Models have it flattening out and continuing through the summer.

How many lives lost? There's only one model that we look at that has the number of projected deaths which is the IHME model which is funded by the Gates Foundation, and we thank the Gates Foundation for the national service that they've done. But that is the model that suggests approximately 93,000 deaths across the country. That's the model that I believe Dr. Fauci was referring to when he said about 100,000 deaths. By that, New York would be about 16,000 deaths by that model.

When we're doing this planning and we're doing our deployment, the theory is the chain is only as strong as the weakest link, right? So that's true for the hospital system. We have about, give or take, 180 hospitals that we are focusing on here in the state. The hospitals that will have the greatest issue will be those hospitals that are usually the most stressed in normal circumstances, right? So if the hospitals before this were under stress, you then add this crisis on top of that - those are the hospitals that one would expect to see struggling first. That's also true for the entire hospital system. You know, we talk about beds, we talk about staff, we talk about supplies, but the truth is you need all three of those things to provide any care. A bed without staff doesn't do anything. A bed and staff without supplies doesn't do anything. So you need all three of those components to work to have a situation where someone can actually get care.

In terms of beds, those are the easiest to find, and we're constructing additional facilities. We're now going to start at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Obviously, in Brooklyn, New York, New York City. It's expected to open this week, 750 beds. We're talking an Office of Mental Health facility in Staten Island and converting it to a COVID-only hospital. So on beds we are in relatively good shape because a bed is a bed, right? A bed is a question of a structure. Push comes to shove, we can acquire dorms, we can acquire hotels, we can acquire physical structures with beds in them. Of those three components - bed, staff, supplies - I personally am least worried about bed capacity. We have 2,500 beds at Javits, we have 1,000 beds on the Naval Ship Comfort. Beds, we can find. Not easy, but we can find them. The harder components are the staff and the supplies, which is what we've been talking about.

On the staff, we're continuing to shift staff from the Upstate hospitals that are less impacted to downstate hospitals. We've requested out-of-state health care workers. God bless America, 21,000 people have volunteered from out of state to come into New York State. I thank them. I thank their patriotism. I thank their dedication and passion to their mission of public health. These are beautiful, generous people. And New Yorkers will return the favor. New Yorkers will return the favor. This is going to affect every place in this country. We are, in some ways, the first major encounter. We're learning. We'll get the experience. And we will return the favor.

When your community needs help, New Yorkers will be there. And you have my personal word on that. And it's also the New York tradition. When there's been a hurricane or there's been a flood or Hurricane Katrina, New Yorkers are the first ones in their cars to go anywhere in this nation that needs help. And I will be the first one in my car to go wherever this nation needs help as soon as we get past this. I will never forget how people across this country came to the aid of New Yorkers when they needed it. And I deeply appreciate it. We have 85,000 volunteers now in total, which are being deployed to the hospitals so they can find staff that works for them.

Supplies are an ongoing challenge. The PPE is an ongoing challenge. The gowns, the gloves and the ventilators. First of all, we have for the first time ever a hospital-by-hospital survey that will be done on a nightly basis of exactly what they have. As I said, we're coordinating the healthcare system in a way it's never been coordinated before. Rather than having all these regional systems and public systems, private systems, et cetera, we have a central stockpile. We are asking all the hospitals to contribute what they have to that central stockpile, and then we will disburse on a need basis. You know, some hospitals have more supplies than they're using. We're saying, don't hoard supplies. Let's put all the supplies in the central stockpile, and then we will draw down from the central stockpile, and we will monitor this literally on a daily basis.

I'm also asking on supplies. I don't have a New York Defense Production Act, right. A governor can't say to a company, we need you to manufacture this. But I ask businesses just to think about the situation we're in and a possible opportunity. It is the cruelest irony that this nation is now dependent on China for production of many of these products. Many of these products, in the normal marketplace, were being produced in China, and now, you have everyone shopping China for PPE, gowns, ventilators. The gowns, the gloves, are not complicated components to manufacture. The gowns are tyvek, or paper material.

If you are a manufacturer who can convert to make these products and make them quickly, they are not complicated products. The FDA lists the specifications for these products on their website. If you have the capacity to make these products, we will purchase them, and we will pay a premium, and we will pay to convert or transition your manufacturing facility to a facility that can do this. But, we need it, like, now, you know. We're not talking about two months, three months, four months. We need these materials now. That's the stress, I understand that. But, if you are in the garment manufacturing business. If you have machinery that can cut a pattern. You know, a coverall, you're not making a fashion-forward, fitted garment, right. These are relatively straightforward components. So if you can do it, it's a business opportunity, it is a state need, it's a national need. Please contact us. We'll work with you, we'll work with you quickly, there'll be no bureaucracy, no red tape. And we'll finance, we're not asking for a favor from these businesses, we'll finance what you need in terms of transitioning and we'll buy the product and I will pay a premium because we need it. And this is a number for the Empire State Development Corporation, which is handling this task.

In terms of ventilators, we released 400 ventilators last night to the New York City Health and Hospital Corporation. We released 200 to Long Island and Westchester. As I said, you see those growing numbers in Nassau and Suffolk, and that is starting to stress that healthcare system. So we released those ventilators last night. At the current burn rate, we have about six days of ventilators in our stockpile, meaning if the rate of usage, the rate of people coming into hospitals who need ventilators, if that rate continues, in our stockpile we have about six days. Now, if the apex happens within that timeframe, if the apex increases, if the apex is longer, we have an issue with ventilators. These numbers, by the way, are also going to be compiled every night. There's a difference of opinion, how many will you need. We'll need what we need. You know, I have no desire to acquire more ventilators than we need. The way we are basically acquiring ventilators is the state is buying them. They are very expensive and the state is broke, so I have no desire to buy more ventilators than we need. But, we need what we need. If a person comes in and needs a ventilator, and you don't have a ventilator, the person dies. That's the blunt equation here. And right now, we have a burn rate that would suggest we have about six days in the stockpile.

But, but, we are taking all sorts of extraordinary measures, I've spoken to health people all across the nation, Dr. Zucker's done all sorts of research. And we have extraordinary measures in place that can make a difference if we run into a real ventilator shortage. First, we know where all the ventilators are in the State of New York, by hospital. If we have a problem in any hospital, we are going to take the ventilators that are not needed from the upstate hospitals and transport them to downstate New York, to the hospitals that do need them, which again more and more are going to be on Long Island, and then we'll return them or we will figure out the finances of it and make those hospitals whole.

We are also increasing the number of ventilators by ending all elective surgeries. If you do not need an elective surgery, a hospital cannot perform it. If it is not critical, that's freeing up ventilators. We're also using anesthesia machine ventilators, without the anesthesia, obviously, but using them as ventilators. We're also so called splitting ventilators. We put out a protocol, all the hospitals are practicing that now, one ventilator, two sets of tubes can do two patients. It's not easy, it's not ideal, but it's better than nothing.

We're also converting what's called BiPAP machines, which do not have the same force as a ventilator, but on an emergency basis, some research has been done that says they could be suitable.

We are also still in the business of looking for ventilators to buy ventilators. It is too late to ask a company to make them in any way that would work for our timeframe. Our timeframe, seven days to 30 days, no one is going to be able to make a ventilator for you in that period of time.

Nationwide, parts of the country that have a later curve, yes. If you give a company two months, three months, they can ramp up production. But not on our curve. Not on our curve. So we have to find ventilators that we can buy and we are still doing that. Again, the main place is China.

We are converting the BiPAP machines. This has not been done before, but Northwell, which is one of our premier health care systems, has developed a protocol and they are teaching the other hospitals now how to do it. We just bought 3,000 BiPAP machines and 750 came in yesterday.

So yes, the burn rate of ventilators is troubling and six days of ventilators in the stockpile is troubling. But we have all of these extraordinary measures that I believe, if push comes to shove, will put us in fairly good shape. I do not want to say yet I'm confident, and it depends on how many we need, but I can say with confidence we have researched every possibility, every idea, every measure you can possibly take to find ventilators. This state has done, that I can promise you.

We are also going to open the health care exchange enrollment period through May 15. We have about 96 percent of the people in the state covered with health insurance. If you are not covered, we are extending the enrollment period to May 15. Please get covered. You can go to the New York State of Health website and sign up.

My brother, my little brother, I only have one brother, Christopher, tested positive for coronavirus. A lot of people are concerned about him, obviously people in my family, but even beyond that. New Yorkers are very compassionate and many people asked me about Chris and how is he doing, not just for himself, but we keep talking about this coronavirus, coronavirus, coronavirus, I'm afraid of it, I'm anxious about it, what does it actually mean? Okay, your brother has it. How is he doing? So a lot of people ask me that question and I talk to him quite frequently and he is doing okay and I checked in with him this morning and asked him how he was feeling and he was up and spry and much his normal self.

I invited him to join us for a couple of minutes if he was up to it this morning and I think he said that he was in a position to join us and I asked him to join us by video if he's available. There he is, with his hat, Cuomo Prime Time. Say hello.

Chris Cuomo: Let's get after it!

Governor Cuomo: Let's get after it! I love that saying. You're looking fit and fine. Many people are asking about you. I tell you the truth, everyone I talk to is asking about you and how you're doing and how you're handling it and how you feel. Cara is here by the way. She's working with me now. She's working on supplies so she says hello. So how are you feeling?

Chris Cuomo: I love Cara and you have great kids. There is no better way to actually measure what you've actually meant in the world than the kids you bring into it. And your daughters are great and I'm not surprised at all that they're helping. They make me proud of the family. Thank God the next generation is better than the one that brought it into this world.

I'm doing pretty well all things considered. It's been very tough. I get it now. I've now become part of this group of people who have this virus and they're reaching out to friends and people who are new friends. They have this 5, 8, 10-day constant virus, constant fever and it's tough. You know, it's not doing great to my hair, I have to be honest; it's tough for the hair and the way I want it to look. You look like you've been cutting your own hair, which some people are good at, some people are not. So I've chosen to wear a hat, because I don't want to butcher my own hair cut. But, it's going to be a long slog. Now that I know the fight that I'm in for, I'm more comfortable and I've learned that I see why it takes people out. You have got to rest because your body has the fever because it's fighting the virus, and you've got to chill. I'm very lucky; I have a wife who loves me, who's keeping me fed. I got a nice place to be, millions of people don't. You've been very smart, Andrew, getting people to think about how they can reach out and help people without contact. A lot of people are fighting this alone, and I can't imagine that. I can barely, you know, keep it together and I have everything done for me. I'm very lucky. There are a lot of people who are in a bad way, and they're reaching out and I feel for them. So, we're in a real fight and we really do have to remember our connections to each other because otherwise there would be no way through.

Governor Cuomo: You're on what, you're on day two?

Chris Cuomo: Yeah. I really believe that it didn't start until I got the diagnosis, maybe because it's psychosomatic or whatever, but that night I got hit with a fever and those rigors, spelled like rigors "R-I-G-O-R-S". But, it was like out of a movie. I tell you, I had hallucinations I was seeing Pop. You came to me in a dream. You had on a very interesting ballet outfit and you were dancing in the dream, and you were waving a wand and saying, "I wish I could wave my wand and make this go away." And then you spun around and you danced away.

Governor Cuomo: Well that's a -- there's a lot of metaphoric reality in that one. I thank you for sharing that with us. It was kind of you.

Chris Cuomo: I can't get that picture out of my head.

Governor Cuomo: Obviously the fever has affected your mental capacity.

Chris Cuomo: Yep. And being alone all the time, I think everything I say is freaking nuts.

Governor Cuomo: So, you still have -- do you have a fever today?

Chris Cuomo: I have a fever right this instant, Governor.

Governor Cuomo: Really? Well, you look good. I have to tell you, comparatively you look good.

Chris Cuomo: Well first of all, I appreciate that. I must point out to your audience that you were concerned about how I looked several times, and you didn't like my hair. You thought that I was giving a bad look of survival of the virus. I think I'm doing okay.

Governor Cuomo: Good. You look good. You sound good. I know that sometimes we joke. I'm not going to do that today. You know, rule one is never hit a brother when he's down, and you're literally in the basement. So, I'm going to refrain from any rebuttal today.

Chris Cuomo: I don't know, Andrew. This is probably your best chance because when I'm healthy, you know what happens when we go toe to toe when I'm healthy, so really if I were you now is the time to strike.

Governor Cuomo: Yeah but see that's --

Chris Cuomo: You may get sick, but I would come for it now because once I'm healthy, I'm not going to forget all the jokes you did at my expense. I saw the picture you showed of me the other day; it raised my fever.

Governor Cuomo: No. Look, Chris, I have no doubt that you would hit me when I'm down. That's the difference between us and that is my point. That's not who I am. I hadn't made any jokes. There was not a joke. Some people misinterpreted what I said. I said that I was going to send you a book because I know you're just walking around the basement there, that I was going to send you a book on beginners guide to striped bass fishing, but that's only because, you know, you normally fish for porgies and it's totally different to fish for striped bass than porgies. I was never saying anything that was in any way offensive.

Chris Cuomo: Well, I appreciate the book. I like to learn. I love to fish with you; it's one of my favorite things to do. You're the only person I've ever known who fishes in all white because you have no expectation of getting any kind of fish, or any type of substance on you at any time we fish, which has been great training for the virus. You have lived a sterilized existence pretty much the entire time I've known you.

Governor Cuomo: Yeah. I believe you can fish and still stay neat and clean. I'll tell you this --

Chris Cuomo: I love these briefings, I think you should have one every day.

Governor Cuomo: Yes. I have been. I know you haven't noticed.

Chris Cuomo: Oh, sorry.

Governor Cuomo: Yeah. It's sort of like the way you have a show. Yes, I do a briefing. You have Cuomo Prime Time, I have Cuomo all the time. That's the difference.

Chris Cuomo: The hats are available, by the way.

Governor Cuomo: Yes. It is a good looking hat, and one hour a day. I work 23 hours a day. That's like the mathematical balance. But anyway.

Chris Cuomo: That's your job.

Governor Cuomo: That's my job. I do believe this is going to be a great public service in an ironic way. People are about coronavirus. What does it mean? What happens if I get it the virus? You living it, showing it, doing it, doing the show, reporting on how you feel, reporting on what you're doing. I think it really takes, it demystifies this. It takes a lot of the unknown out of the equation. I know it's a terrible unfortunate circumstance for you. But think about it from a journalistic point of view, public service point of view, you are answering questions for millions of Americans. If I get it, what happens? What do I do? What do I look like? How about my family?

By the way, best news is, thank God, your family doesn't show any symptoms. Knock on formica. Because if your wife had any symptoms, you'd be in the basement for a lot longer than this virus would keep you in the basement, brother.

Christopher Cuomo: Let me tell you, I don't know how I would do it without her. I've always been emotionally dependent on my wife. But now I don't eat, without Christina. The kids wont come anywhere near me. The dogs wont even come down to see me. I had to trick the dog to come in to take a picture with him.

Governor Cuomo: Is that a relationship issue? Or is that a canine instinct issue, I wonder.

Christopher Cuomo: I think they know people get into survival mode and they're like big dog went down, doesn't mean we all have go down. And they are keeping their distance like everyone at this time. I get a FaceTime alert every once in a while. I get a text message. They all are very proud of you and what you're doing.

I know how hard this is for you. I know it's frustrating when you can't control what you need and you know what you need, and you know how important it is and you cant get it. That is very tough and I've watched it in real time with you. I can tell people, of course, I'm your brother and I'll never be objective about you, but I've never seen you work harder than now. And I've never seen you have this kind of desperation to source equipment and your drawing in from everybody you know. And you've done everything you can to stay positive with the federal government and that is so important right now. You're doing everything you can.

Unfortunately, look what's one of the big lessons in like that pop used to tell us? Certain things you're not going to be able to control. Certain things are going to happen. This virus is one of them. It happened. It's going to run its course. You guys can't put a number on it. I know there's a huge temptation to do it. I know your using the models. I talked to Dr. Fauci and all the different experts. People want timing, but we got to be realistic. We don't know how long it's going to last. We only know what we control, which is staying away from one another. If we do that well, things will go better. Sometimes in life you got to ride it out and we're in one of those experiences now. People will remember this period, maybe more than any other period in their whole lives. People will be remembered for how they stepped up right now and what they did and what they didn't do. And I'm very proud of you big brother.

Governor Cuomo: Well look, I've said at this briefing this a transformative moment for the state, for the country, I believe that. I also believe it's a moment where you really see what people are made of. When the pressure is on, that's when you see all the cracks and you see all the strength. It's easy to be nice when everything is nice, but when the pressure is really on. And for you, when they told you, you tested positive. You know, a lot of people's instinct would have been to get in bed, pull the covers over your head, and just lay there. For you to get up, do that show, share with people. That is a strength and a character strength that is really incredible.

You know we joke a lot, but the strength you showed here and dedication to journalism, and your skill, and your ability to make this okay for people, and to communicate it. You can do the coronavirus. Have the coronavirus, but you know life goes on. I've been saying a thousand times 80 percent of the people get it and they will self-resolve, but you're showing that. Not many people would have stood up the way you have stood up. I've always been proud of you, you know that. On a basic level, not only do I love you, I've always been proud of you, but I've never been prouder of you than I am right now. You go get some rest. I love you. Everybody loves you. This is going to be fine. You're going to get through it and you're going to do a beautiful public service in the meantime, and I'm proud of you. Then we'll go fishing, we'll have a drink, and we'll laugh about it. Go get some rest. Thank you for taking the time.

Christopher Cuomo: I know that I have to take care of myself. I won't do the show all the time. I'll do it whenever I can. People have been very nice and saying don't work too much because you don't compromise fighting the virus. They are right. You're right, and I hear all the advice. I love you. Thank you for letting me join today. I'll enjoy watching this now that I know it's a regular thing. I'll watch it every day because I'm stuck in the basement.

Governor Cuomo: Thank you. Thank you for saying such loving supporting things.

Christopher Cuomo: If you need me, you know where I am.

Governor Cuomo: Rule one, never hit a brother when he's down, in the basement. Love you.

Christopher Cuomo: In the basement.

Governor Cuomo: In the basement.

Christopher Cuomo: Love you.

Governor Cuomo: Ciao