NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Bill de Blasio called Friday for a national enlistment program for doctors and nurses to handle an expected surge in coronavirus cases in New York and other places around the country where virus cases are straining existing health care systems.
Later in the day, the city reported 56,289 cases and 1,867 deaths. There's also been 11,739 hospitalizations.
"Next week in New York City is going to be very tough — next week in New York City and Detroit and New Orleans and a lot of other places," de Blasio said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"And unless the military is fully mobilized and we create something we've never had before, which is some kind of national enlistment of medical personnel moved to the most urgent needs in the country constantly, if we don't have that we're going to see hospitals simply unable to handle so many people who could be saved."
De Blasio said on CNN that the country should be on a wartime footing to meet the coronavirus threat.
"We're fighting a war against an invisible enemy that is increasingly taking the lives of Americans in vast numbers," he said.
De Blasio warned that the ventilator shortage in the city is critical and that more than 5,000 people in need of ventilators could be in intensive care by next week.
"We have enough ventilators just to get to Sunday, Monday. We don't have enough yet for next week," de Blasio said.
The mayor is anticipating a surge of cases next week and that not enough is being done.
"This country's acting like we're somehow still in peacetime. This is a war, it's a very different enemy. It's an enemy you can't see, but look at the death toll for God's sake. Look how many people are in danger," de Blasio said.
De Blasio said the country must mobilize and he's imploring federal officials to help.
"I asked the White House. I asked the Pentagon to send a thousand nurses; 150 doctors; 300 respirator therapists. I asked them to get here by Sunday," de Blasio said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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