NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- An emergency field hospital officially opened on Staten Island on Tuesday amid a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the borough.
The field hospital, which is set up at the South Beach Psychiatric Center, received around 14 COVID-19 patients late Tuesday afternoon, Staten lsland University Hospital spokesman Christian Preston told 1010 WINS.
The 108-bed emergency unit is currently treating "non-critical care patients," Preston said. Patients with serious cases of COVID-19 are still being treated at Staten Island University Hospital's north campus next door, he noted.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the opening of the field hospital at a news conference on Monday. COVID-19 hospitalizations on Staten Island have "basically tripled" over the past three weeks, the governor said.
One swath of the borough has since been designated a precautionary "yellow zone," while the other swath has been designated an orange "warning" zone. "Staten Island is a problem," he said. "Staten Island has such an issue that it has triggered a capacity issue, and the hospitals have contacted us, and they say they need emergency beds on Staten Island."
The field unit has enough space to add dozens of additional beds if hospital capacity continues to be an issue, Preston said.
