In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, New York state was hit especially hard. Although New York wasn’t the first state to report confirmed infections, it was uniquely vulnerable to undetected community spread exacerbated by NYC’s population density and reliance on public transportation, as well as infected travelers who came in via the city’s major international airports.
Mistakes were made by NY officials (including delaying “PAUSE”, and sending infected patients to nursing homes), but much of New York’s suffering was due to a lack of federal emergency response and a significant shortage of PPE and other necessary supplies. But even in the most dire of circumstances when every region was at risk of its own outbreak, people around the country stepped up to offer much-needed help to New York.
Help That Was Given In New York’s Time of Need:
- Healthcare Workers Volunteer From Out of State: Tens of thousands of doctors, paramedics, nurses, and other healthcare workers from across America answered Governor Cuomo’s call for healthcare volunteers in March and April. At the time, New York’s hospitals were overwhelmed, and most volunteers stayed for weeks (and some for months), until the pandemic was under control. Some of the volunteers suffered for their altruism, including an Austin nurse who was fired and a Colorado paramedic who died after contracting the virus in New York.
- Massachusetts Provides N95 Masks: When PPE shortages were most dire (and states had to compete for much-needed supplies), New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft shipped 300,000 masks to New York via a Patriots tractor-trailer. The Patriots delivered another 100,000 masks (of the 1.7 million Kraft purchased) to Rhode Island.
- West Coast States Send Ventilators: In early April, California Governor Newsom loaned 500 state-owned ventilators to the Strategic National Stockpile inventory to help New York and other hard-hit states struggling with a severe lack of medical equipment. Washington state also returned more than 400 of the 500 ventilators it received from the federal government to redistribute as needed, and Oregon’s Governor Brown arranged for 140 ventilators to be sent to New York, answering Governor Cuomo’s call for aid.
Upstate New York began four phases of reopening in mid-May, with NYC entering Phase 1 on June 8. Despite reopening, the state has been successful at keeping the pandemic under control, maintaining fewer than 4 daily new cases (per 100k), a ~1% positive test rate, and an infection rate of 1.03 or lower since mid-June (CovidActNow, as of Aug 3). Other states, however, are suffering a resurgence of the virus (Louisiana) or their first significant wave (Texas, Florida, Arizona, California, Mississippi, Georgia), and it has given New York a chance to return the kindness of our fellow Americans.
Now New York Is Paying It Forward:
- NY Sends Medication to COVID-19 Patients in Florida: On July 10, Governor Cuomo announced that New York state was sending enough doses of Remdesivir to Florida to treat 280 COVID-19 patients. The antiviral drug is the only medication that has been proven effective in treating the coronavirus, and the shipment was intended to help Florida bridge the gap between their dwindling state supply and an expected shipment from the federal government.
- NY Gives Test Kits and PPE to Atlanta, GA: On July 15, Governor Cuomo announced that New York state was sending PPE and test kits to Atlanta, Georgia, to help the city manage their current outbreak. The initial delivery included 7,500 test kits, masks, gowns, gloves, and face shields, 2.5 pallets of Styrofoam coolers, and 1,250 gallons of hand sanitizer. This followed a call for assistance from Atlanta Mayor Bottoms on July 13.
- NY Establishes Additional Testing Sites in Houston, TX: On July 16, Governor Cuomo announced that New York had established two testing sites in Houston, Texas, to provide an additional 1,000 tests per day in a city that is currently a COVID-19 hotspot. The testing sites, one in northwest Houston, and one in the southwest, are located in highly-impacted minority communities that are especially vulnerable to the outbreak. New York sent testing supplies (including 10,000 COVID-19 tests) to Houston , as well as more than 20 healthcare workers and public health experts to assist with the sites.