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New York, New Jersey Seize Ventilators Before Pandemic Crests

  • Nearly 3,600 people have died in the two states from Covid-19
  • Cuomo orders National Guard to search for and take equipment
Commuters wait for a bus in the Bronx borough of New York on April 2.

Commuters wait for a bus in the Bronx borough of New York on April 2.

Photographer: David Dee Delgado/Bloomberg
Updated on

New York and New Jersey governors have ordered unused ventilators and other equipment to be commandeered from medical facilities and redistributed to hospitals treating coronavirus patients, aggressive measures highlighting conditions that are increasingly dire.

The move came as officials from New York began to warn that the health system was nearing its capacity to handle the waves of patients, with possibly just days until it reaches the limits of ventilators and hospital beds. New Jersey, which has the second-highest rate of infections and is tracking New York’s pace, is trying to get ahead of the curve and avoid the dire fate of its neighbor.