Coronavirus: New York hospitals set to be overrun, Donald Trump calls in National Guard

New York is in a health catastrophe as the city’s hospitals face being overrun, and the state is the new virus hotspot in the US.

A member of the National Guard in New Rochelle, New York; Top right, people queue outside a hospital in Brooklyn; below right, NY hospitals are set to be overrun.

New York is facing an unprecedented health catastrophe with mayor Bill De Blasio warning that the city’s hospitals are about to be overrun by a flood of sick patients from the coronavirus pandemic.

‘If we don’t get more ventilators in the next 10 days people will die,” Mr de Blasio said as new figures confirmed that New York City and New York State have become the fastest-growing and most worrying COVID-19 hotspot in the US.

The news came amid another day of soaring infections and deaths across the US, which has now recorded more than 32,000 coronavirus cases and 400 deaths.

It also came as the first US Senator, Republican Rand Paul, tested positive for the virus, forcing two other Senators, Mitt Romney and Mike Lee, to self-quarantine after recent contact with Senator Paul.

The growing crisis led Donald Trump to call out the National Guard to assist in the country’s three worst affected states: New York, California and Washington.

“We are at war, in a true sense we are at war and we are fighting an invisible enemy,” President Trump said. “For those worried and afraid please know that as long as I am president you can be confident you have a leader who will always fight for you ... it is now attacking - the enemy is now attacking.”

In New York State, which accounts for almost half of the country’s infections, Governor Andrew Cuomo said there were more than 15,000 cases and 76 deaths, a jump of almost 50 per cent in just 24 hours. More than 9000 of these cases are in New York City, which has closed bars and restaurants and has ordered people to stay at home.

Mr Cuomo warned that between 40 per cent to 80 per cent of people in New York State will be infected, a figure that amounts to 7.8 million to 15.6 million people.

“The timeline — nobody can tell you, it depends on how we handle it — but 40 per cent, up to 80 per cent of the population will wind up getting this virus. All we’re trying to do is slow the spread,” Mr Cuomo said. “But it will spread, it is that contagious.”

Mr Cuomo said he would push to increase capacity at the state’s hospitals by more than 50 per cent in the coming weeks.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Picture: AFP

He also lashed out at mostly younger New Yorkers who continued to party in large groups despite the encroaching pandemic. “You would think there was nothing going on in parts of New York City,” he said. “I don’t know what I’m saying that people don’t get. … This is not life as usual. None of this is life as usual.”

“It’s insensitive, it’s arrogant, it’s self-destructive, it’s disrespectful and it has to stop now. This is not a joke, and I am not kidding,” Mr Cuomo said.

People who believe they have COVID-19 and who meet the criteria wait in line to be pre-screened for the corona virus outside of the Brooklyn Hospital Center. Picture: AFP

As infections soar in the country’s virus hotspots, hospital workers are facing a critical shortage of masks, ventilators and protective equipment.

“We’re about 10 days away now from seeing widespread shortages of ventilators, surgical masks, the things necessary to keep a hospital system running,” New York Mayor De Blasio said.

“We have seen next to nothing from the federal government at this point. We have seen — we’ve made this plea publicly, privately, letters, phone calls, very — very little has arrived.”

Equipment is driven by the National Guard as it sets up for coronavirus testing in Washington. Picture: AP

Meanwhile, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate were having trouble thrashing out a final agreement on an almost $US1.4 billion stimulus package to help the fast-closing US economy.

The outcome remained in limbo as Democrats and Republicans disagreed over how much assistance to give to workers and businesses.

But a last minute deal was still considered likely given the expected severe reaction from financial markets if no stimulus package is finalised.

Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia