GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING, THURSDAY, 4/2

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ALBANY – Here at the highlights of today’s coronavirus briefing by Governor Cuomo:

• 21,000 Out-of-State Individuals Have Volunteered to Work in New York’s Healthcare System During COVID-19 Pandemic; 85,400 Health Professionals Have Signed up to Volunteer as Part of the State’s Surge Healthcare Force to Date

• State Has Purchased 3,000 BiPAP Machines from Philips in Pittsburgh; 750 BiPAP Machines Already In Stock

• State Will Conduct a Hospital-by-Hospital Survey on a Nightly Basis to Take Inventory of Every Hospital’s Supplies; All Hospitals Are Being Asked to Contribute Supplies They Don’t Currently Need to a Centralized Stockpile to be Distributed to Hospitals with Greatest Need

• Urges Businesses to Begin Manufacturing PPE Products; State Will Pay to Convert Manufacturing Facilities to Make PPE Products

• Consumers and Small Businesses Experiencing Financial Hardship Due to COVID-19 May Defer Paying Health Insurance Premiums through June 1, 2020

• Special Enrollment Period for Uninsured New Yorkers to Apply for Coverage Through NY State of Health or Directly to Insurers Extended Through May 15, 2020

• If You Lost Employer Coverage, You Must Apply Within 60 Days of Losing That Coverage; Because of Loss of Income, New Yorkers May Also Be Eligible for Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Subsidized Qualified Health Plans or Child Health Plus

• Confirms 8,669 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State – Bringing Statewide Total to 92,381; New Cases in 46 Counties

•Governor Cuomo: “We talk about beds, we talk about staff, we talk about supplies, but the truth is you need all three of those things to provide any care. A bed without staff doesn’t do anything. A bed and staff without supplies doesn’t do anything. So you need all three of those components to work to have a situation where someone can actually get care.”

Governor Cuomo: “When your community needs help, New Yorkers will be there. And you have my personal word on that. And it’s also the New York tradition. When there’s been a hurricane or there’s been a flood or Hurricane Katrina, New Yorkers are the first ones in their cars to go anywhere in in this nation that needs help. And I will be the first one in my car to go wherever this nation needs help as soon as we get past this. I will never forget how people across this country came to the aid of New Yorkers when they needed it. And I deeply appreciate it.”