Updated April 7th, 2020 at 13:48 IST

New York cathedral to be used as field hospital to help battle COVID-19 crisis

Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan will not be used as a field hospital amid coronavirus outbreak in the US which has led to shortage of beds.

Reported by: Aanchal Nigam
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Amid the unprecedented outbreak of deadly coronavirus in the United States where New York is emerging as the new hotspot, a vast Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan will now be used as a field hospital. With the increasing number of coronavirus infections, the shortage of medical equipment along with hospital beds had started to hinder the treatment of COVID-19 patients. That is when the church authorities stepped-up to contribute “all Cathederal resources” to provide help to the city’s public health officials. As of April 7, coronavirus has taken 10,943 lives and infected 367,650 in the US.

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Meanwhile, during daily coronavirus task force briefing on April 6, United States President Donald Trump has claimed that White House is planning a “massive federal response” to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. As the death toll of coronavirus infections recently crossed 10,000 and US officials are raising concerns over the upcoming weeks being the “peak” of the pandemic, Trump touted the planning in the country and said that the response would not be “anything like the country has ever seen or done”. 

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'Massive federal response' to COVID-19

According to the official website of the White House, Donald Trump’s massive response includes a greater number of military deployment, delivery of medical equipment and other things. By April 7, the federal government of the US will deploy over 3,000 military and public health officials to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and other parts that are hardest-hit by a coronavirus. 

Moreover, within a week, the government has airlifted essential equipment and crucial supplies from “every corner of Earth”. Since last Sunday, the US claimed to have airlifted at least  300 million gloves, almost 8 million masks, and 3 million gowns. The White House is also delivering an additional 600,000 N95 masks to New York City to support the hospitals that currently battle the pandemic amid a shortage of medical equipment. In a few days, the US has not only tested nearly two million people of coronavirus but also delivered an additional 500 ventilators to New Jersey.

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Published April 7th, 2020 at 13:47 IST