Washinton: The Chinese government has facilitated a donation of 1,000 ventilators to New York state, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Saturday. The shipment is slated to arrive at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday.
“This is a big deal, and it’s going to make a significant difference for us,” Cuomo said during a morning press briefing. The state of Oregon is also sending 140 ventilators to New York, which has become an epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.
Cuomo said New York was conducting business with Chinese companies and cited China as a repository of essential medical equipment. He thanked Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, founders of the Chinese e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba, as well as Huang Ping, the Chinese Consul General in New York.
Cuomo also said the state had put in an order for 17,000 ventilators but that the order went unfilled, likely due to intense competition for the machines and global shortages. The national stockpile has roughly 10,000 ventilators.
Coronavirus cases have surged at a devastating pace in New York. The number of confirmed cases in the state has nearly doubled since last Friday, with a total of 113,704 cases and 3,565 deaths in the state as of Saturday, according to the governor’s office.
