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Maryland nursing home hit with ‘tragic’ coronavirus outbreak, as 66 test positive, 11 hospitalized, governor says

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Dozens of people have tested positive for coronavirus at a nursing home in the suburbs west of Baltimore, Maryland’s governor announced late Saturday as the state’s death toll from the virus has doubled.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said the state has experienced a “tragic coronavirus outbreak” at Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mount Airy, about 30 miles west of downtown Baltimore.

“As we have been warning for weeks, older Marylanders and those with underlying health conditions are more vulnerable and at a significantly higher risk of contracting this disease,” Hogan said in a statement.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

A total of 66 Pleasant View residents have tested positive for COVID-19, with 11 currently hospitalized.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Saturday the state has experienced a “tragic coronavirus outbreak” at the Pleasant View Nursing Home in Mount Airy, Md.
(AP Photo/Brian Witte)

Hogan said multiple state agencies are on the scene, working closing with the local health department and the facility to take “urgent steps” to protect additional residents and staff who may have been exposed to the virus.

“I want to thank all of the doctors, nurses and first responders all across our state who are working around the clock to respond to this pandemic,” the governor said.

ISOLATED NURSING HOME RESIDENTS PLAY HUMAN VERSION OF HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPOS

Officials also announced five more deaths as of Saturday night, doubling the state’s coronavirus toll.

“It took nearly three weeks for the National Capital Region to go from 0 to 1,000 cases of COVID-19. It took three days for the region to go from 1,000 to 2,000 cases in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia,” Hogan said. “This is a rapidly evolving and escalating emergency, which is now surrounding the nation’s capital.”

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The governor called on residents to stay home — except for essential reasons — in order to help stop the spread of the virus.

The National Guard sets up tents to be used for coronavirus testing, Saturday, March 21, 2020, in a parking lot for FedEx Field in Landover, Md., outside of Washington.
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

“We are leveraging the full arsenal of public health and government, but defeating this invisible enemy will require a unity of effort and spirit like nothing we have ever faced,” Hogan said.

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Nursing homes have emerged as a focus of heightened concern as coronavirus cases spike amid a global pandemic.

About 1.4 million patients are cared for in nursing homes across the U.S., including severely disabled people.

As the virus has spread, nursing homes around the country have cut off visitors and taken steps to isolate residents from one another by ending common activities and serving meals in individual rooms.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mississippi tornado levels Dollar General store, damages other buildings

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A tornado ripped through northeastern Mississippi on Tuesday evening, leveling a Dollar General store and damaging several other buildings.

After the twister passed, the store in Tishomingo, about 242 milies northeast of Jackson, near the Alabama and Tennessee state lines, was a pile of rubble, video posted on social media showed.

The tornado also caused minor injuries, as a severe storm system crossed into other parts of the South, authorities said.

Damage in Tishomingo was reported throughout the small town of fewer than 350 people after the storm moved through around 5:30 p.m. local time, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Memphis reported.

CORONAVIRUS AND TORNADO SHELTERS: HERE’S WHAT FORECASTERS SAY YOU SHOULD DO DURING A WARNING

“Tornado confirmed near the community of Tishomingo, moving east. Seek shelter now!” the agency said.

Tishomingo police Chief Mike Kemp told Tupelo’s WTVA-TV that some residents suffered minor injuries. Trees were also uprooted, with some blocking roadways.

Structural damage along County Roads 106 and 123 south of Highway 30 near Tishomingo was also reported by a storm spotter, according to the Weather Channel.

The large twister was captured passing through the area by Bailey Reece, according to WTVA.

After going through Tishomingo, the tornado crossed the border into northern Alabama, which caused the NWS to issue a tornado emergency, according to AccuWeather.

“At 5:41 p.m. CDT, a confirmed large and destructive tornado was observed near Tishomingo State Park, moving east at 45 mph,” the emergency bulletin read, per the media company.

The National Weather Service in Huntsville, Ala., tweeted shortly before 6 p.m. that “TORNADO HAS BEEN REPORTED ON THE GROUND” and told residents in an area of Colbert County in north Alabama to seek shelter. That county also abuts the Mississippi state line.

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The weather service also said there were preliminary reports of falling debris in the area.

Robert Boyd, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Huntsville, said severe weather warnings had been issued for northwest Alabama on Tuesday evening.

The thunderstorms later moved into areas of Tennessee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Coronavirus pandemic sends some to second homes, vacation towns tell tourists ‘don’t come here’

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As tens of millions of Americans are told to stay home and avoid gatherings to help slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, some are heading to vacation homes in communities that are telling tourists to just stay away out of fears resources could be overwhelmed in sleepy off-season hamlets.

Sunday morning, the number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. had reached over 26,747 with at least 340 deaths, with the highest number of coronavirus infections in New York, Washington, and California.

In New Jersey, which has some 1,300 cases and at least 16 deaths, Gov. Phil Murphy urged residents who have homes at the Jersey Shore to not go to them as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread.

“The local infrastructure, especially the health care infrastructure, and especially in off-season, is not prepared for the influx of part-time residents,” Murphy said Saturday during a press conference. “There’s absolutely no excuse for a party at the beach. Please stay at your primary residences.”

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

Shore communities in the Garden State have expressed concern over the past week that some are making the trek to their homes as many work from home and children are out of school.

A cyclist rides a bicycle in Cape May, N.J., Wednesday, March 18, 2020.
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Cape May County Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton has asked summer homeowners — who make up nearly half the property owners in the southern New Jersey county — to stay away for at least two weeks. Health officials on Wednesday said a 30-year-old man from New York visiting the area was Cape May County’s first confirmed case of coronavirus.

“We don’t know where these people are coming from or who they’ve been exposed to,” Thornton told the Associated Press

Matt and Anna Mason play with their son, Oliver, on the beach in Cape May, N.J., Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The Masons live and work in Cape May.
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Thornton added that a quarter of the county is age 60 or older, an age group that is particularly vulnerable to the virus.

Up to eight in every 10 coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. have involved adults ages 65 years and older, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said last week, with up to 70 percent of patients requiring hospitalization falling into the age range of 85 years and older.

Some people who live in cities or their suburbs have been fleeing to their second homes at the shore to ride out the coronavirus near the beach. But neighbors in many of those towns fear infection and an overwhelming of already-stretched resources.
(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Further north in the community of Point Pleasant Beach — known for one of the state’s most popular boardwalks — authorities caution people not to walk on it as spring warmth arrives in the region in the days ahead.

“Some will be tempted to come to the Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk this weekend and over the next few weeks to get out of the house and get some fresh air,” Point Pleasant Beach Police Department Chief Joseph Michigan said in a statement. “While fresh air and spending time outside is positive, the narrow boardwalk will force people to be in close proximity to each other, thus negating all attempts to adhere to social distancing.”

“I’m asking you to stay home!” he added.

Other coastal towns and vacation destinations are making similar pleas across the nation.

In Oregon, the city of Warrenton on the state’s north coast held an emergency meeting Saturday where officials passed a resolution to evict tourists after the area saw a large influx of visitors.

“My message is: tourists, don’t come here. Not right now,” Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer said in a video on Facebook. “We’ll welcome you back later, the beach is always going to be here, clams are still in the ocean — they don’t catch COVID-19.”

Balensifer said the city can’t handle having “thousands of people flood the city,” and that grocery stores were being overrun with tourists in addition to a medical system in the area not able to handle an outbreak of COVID-19.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE 

The resolution passed in Warrenton banned camping and ordered campgrounds to close. The city also prohibited short term rentals, home-stay lodging and told hotels to close except for those with long-term stays, according to FOX12.

On Oregon’s central coast, Larry Richardson told FOX12 that large crowds began to arrive in the area on Friday.

Oregon communities have enacted restrictions after visitors swarmed areas on Friday as authorities have promoted social distancing to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
(FOX12)

“There are people all over the place,” Richardson told FOX12. “It’s 1 o’clock in the afternoon and here is all these hundreds and hundreds of people acting like they are on a vacation, on a holiday.”

In Maryland, the mayor of the state’s most popular beach destination wants vacationers to postpone their trips as the state attempts to combat the spread of the new coronavirus. Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said the only way to combat COVID-19 is by taking “drastic measures.” Gov. Larry Hogan has reduced the permissible number of people statewide at gatherings from 50 to 10.

Inland locations are also seeing an influx of visitors.

During the outbreak, business has more than doubled at the Winhall Market near Stratton Mountain Ski Resort in southern Vermont, as residents of New York and Boston pour in. Locals aren’t thrilled, however, as they watch items selling out at the small market and fear that out-of-staters could be bringing the virus with them.

“They’re really hoarding everything,” market owner Lorraine Neuhaus told the AP about the conduct of the out-of-towners. “We’ve put restrictions on everything.”

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In Idaho, small towns are also asking people to avoid vacationing in rural areas to prevent the spread of coronavirus and not overwhelm health facilities set up to handle smaller populations.

“To act as a cohesive community and to protect each other, we are respectfully asking that no visitation happen at this time,” the town of Cascade said in a news release to CBS2. “It is imperative that our community follow the federal guidelines adopted by the State of Idaho, including avoiding unnecessary travel.”

The phenomenon is not unique to America; in the weeks before China instituted a travel ban, some 2 percent of the residents of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, fled to the coastal Guangdong province across from Hong Kong, according to the AP.

In the U.K., Scottish officials said people with second homes and campers have been traveling to the Highlands to find isolation in recent days.

“I am furious at the reckless and irresponsible behavior of some people traveling to the Highland and Islands. This has to stop now,” rural economy and tourism secretary Fergus Ewing said in a statement to Sky News.

“Let me be crystal clear: people should not be traveling to rural and island communities, full stop,” he added. “They are endangering lives. Do not travel.”

Fox News’ Alexandria Hein and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Illinois Gov. Pritzker slams ‘profoundly un-American’, ‘racist speech’ on coronavirus

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker appeared to implicitly criticize President Trump during a Saturday coronavirus response briefing in Chicago.

Pritzker, a Democrat, outlined his forthcoming “stay-at-home” order for the Land of Lincoln and closed with a pointed critique of some of the rhetoric being used to describe the coronavirus.

He called the characterization that the coronavirus is “tied to” any particular ethnicity “profoundly un-American.”

“Let us remember that this virus is not tied to any specific ethnic group or race,” Pritzker said.

“People from every demographic, every race, ethnicity, gender or background have been infected. Suggesting otherwise or engaging in racist speech or acts is one of the most profoundly un-American things that I can think of,” he said.

NJ GOV PHILIP MURPHY ISSUES ‘STAY-AT-HOME’ ORDER

“The current crisis should drive home to all of us just how connected we all are. We can choose how we want to come out on the other side of this — let’s choose to be one Illinois.”

Pritzker did not mention Trump by name, but the president has been widely lambasted by his critics who disagree with his moniker the “Chinese virus.”

In response to a question from an ABC News reporter earlier this week, the president said the term is not racist.

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“[The virus] comes from China. That’s why — I want to be accurate,” he said, adding that a Chinese official wrongfully claimed the U.S. military had a role in the spread of the virus.

“That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen. Not as long as I’m president; It comes from China.”

Trump’s 2016 Democrat opponent, Hillary Clinton, claimed on Twitter last week that he is using “racist rhetoric” to “distract from his failures to take the coronavirus seriously early on.”

Illinois currently has 753 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to FOX 32 in Chicago.

Illinois Gov. Pritzker slams ‘profoundly un-American’, ‘racist speech’ on coronavirus

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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker appeared to implicitly criticize President Trump during a Saturday coronavirus response briefing in Chicago.

Pritzker, a Democrat, outlined his forthcoming “stay-at-home” order for the Land of Lincoln and closed with a pointed critique of some of the rhetoric being used to describe the coronavirus.

He called the characterization that the coronavirus is “tied to” any particular ethnicity “profoundly un-American.”

“Let us remember that this virus is not tied to any specific ethnic group or race,” Pritzker said.

“People from every demographic, every race, ethnicity, gender or background have been infected. Suggesting otherwise or engaging in racist speech or acts is one of the most profoundly un-American things that I can think of,” he said.

NJ GOV PHILIP MURPHY ISSUES ‘STAY-AT-HOME’ ORDER

“The current crisis should drive home to all of us just how connected we all are. We can choose how we want to come out on the other side of this — let’s choose to be one Illinois.”

Pritzker did not mention Trump by name, but the president has been widely lambasted by his critics who disagree with his moniker the “Chinese virus.”

In response to a question from an ABC News reporter earlier this week, the president said the term is not racist.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“[The virus] comes from China. That’s why — I want to be accurate,” he said, adding that a Chinese official wrongfully claimed the U.S. military had a role in the spread of the virus.

“That can’t happen. It’s not going to happen. Not as long as I’m president; It comes from China.”

Trump’s 2016 Democrat opponent, Hillary Clinton, claimed on Twitter last week that he is using “racist rhetoric” to “distract from his failures to take the coronavirus seriously early on.”

Illinois currently has 753 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, according to FOX 32 in Chicago.

Katrina-era FEMA director: Trump invoking Stafford Act was ‘smart,’ important

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Michael Brown, who led the federal emergency response to Hurricane Katrina, says President Trump was “smart” to invoke the Stafford Act and Defense Production Act to help battle the coronavirus pandemic.

Brown said Saturday on “Cavuto Live” that the moves essentially let the Federal Emergency Management Agency take control of the physical disaster response — covering the majority of costs for state and local emergency operations when necessary.

That allows the White House to focus on the efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services and its coronavirus task force, he said.

Brown said the outbreak in the U.S. could continue longer than expected, but that by using the legislation to give FEMA control over a large segment of the response, the agency is free to do what it does best.

DHS CHIEF REFUTES RUMORS OF NATIONAL LOCKDOWN

“I think that’s why the president was smart in turning to the Stafford Act and declaring a national emergency because that does two things: It takes the pressure off the White House, and it takes the pressure off HHS, so they can focus as subject-matter experts,” he said.

“Then all of the coordination, all of the financial arrangements, everything else can now be done through FEMA, which is precisely what FEMA is good at.”

Brown said that under the 1988 act, named for former Vermont Republican Sen. Robert Stafford, FEMA is able to access emergency funds and cover up to 75 percent of the costs of operating a regional emergency operations center, law enforcement and first responder overtime, a National Guard deployments and other virus-fighting efforts.

“I want to emphasize to people that it’s just like a natural disaster, it’s just that in this case it’s nationwide and it happens to be a virus. That’s the big difference,” he said.

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Brown, who responded to Katrina in 2005 under President George W. Bush, also answered questions as to whether governors in affected states, like California’s Gavin Newsom, Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf, New York’s Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut’s Ned Lamont, are allowed to issue shelter-in-place restrictions or commercial restrictions.

The Oklahoma native said that the statewide orders are subject to their own statutes and that they have the power to set the parameters of such policies. But the states also have the responsibility to inform FEMA of their decisions.

“The governors of each state have the power to do that under existing statutes and court rulings, so every governor makes that decision on their own,” he said. “But when they’re making that decision, they reach out to FEMA and they reach out to the White House coronavirus task force just so that everybody … communicate[s] with each other.”

He said that communication is important in case there is something FEMA needs to assist with.

Illinois nursing home coronavirus cluster of 22 announced, first death in state reported

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Nearly two dozen people have tested positive for coronavirus at a nursing home in the suburbs of Chicago, state officials announced Tuesday as some 160 cases have been reported in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced over the weekend that the first resident of the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, Ill. had tested positive for COVID-19.

After “aggressive testing” at the facility in DuPage County, state officials have confirmed an additional 21 cases at the facility, which includes 17 residents and four staff.

“Residents in nursing homes are our most vulnerable population and we are doing everything we can to protect them,” IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement. “We may see cases in other long-term care facilities, which is why it is so important that we all do our part to reduce possible exposure in the community to those who go in and out of these facilities as they provide care to residents.”

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

Of those sickened at the facility, two remain hospitalized while the conditions of the others have not yet been made public, FOX32 reported.

A coronavirus cluser of 22 people have been announced at the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, Ill.

The announcement was made at a press conference with Governor JB Pritzker and state officials, who confirmed the first death from COVID-19 in Illinois – a Chicago woman in her 60s.

“I am deeply saddened by the news that we’ve dreaded since the earliest days of this outbreak: the first COVID-19 related death in Illinois,” Pritzker said in a statement. “All of Illinois stands with this patient’s family and loved ones in mourning her loss and honoring her memory. May her memory be a blessing. There are going to be moments during the next few weeks and months when this burden feels like it is more than we can bear – this is one of those moments, but we will get through this together.”

In the wake of the cluster at the long-term care facility, Illinois officials said have released updated guidance for nursing homes.

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Besides canceling all group activities and communal dining, officials have restricted all visitation except for certain compassionate care situations, such as end-of-life residents. Illinois officials have also told nursing homes to restrict all volunteers and non-essential health care personnel.

Nursing homes are also implementing active screening of residents and health care personnel for fever and respiratory symptoms

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

The IDPH is reporting 160 COVID-19 cases in 15 counties in Illinois, sickening people between the ages of 9 to 91.

Chicago’s health commissioner said Tuesday that the numbers are expected to keep rising.

“I suspect we are going to see a lot more cases in the days to come because we are seeing a lot more testing,” said Dr. Allison Arwady. “That is a good thing.”

Illinois nursing home coronavirus cluster of 22 announced, first death in state reported

By

Nearly two dozen people have tested positive for coronavirus at a nursing home in the suburbs of Chicago, state officials announced Tuesday as some 160 cases have been reported in Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Public Health announced over the weekend that the first resident of the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, Ill. had tested positive for COVID-19.

After “aggressive testing” at the facility in DuPage County, state officials have confirmed an additional 21 cases at the facility, which includes 17 residents and four staff.

“Residents in nursing homes are our most vulnerable population and we are doing everything we can to protect them,” IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said in a statement. “We may see cases in other long-term care facilities, which is why it is so important that we all do our part to reduce possible exposure in the community to those who go in and out of these facilities as they provide care to residents.”

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

Of those sickened at the facility, two remain hospitalized while the conditions of the others have not yet been made public, FOX32 reported.

A coronavirus cluser of 22 people have been announced at the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook, Ill.

The announcement was made at a press conference with Governor JB Pritzker and state officials, who confirmed the first death from COVID-19 in Illinois – a Chicago woman in her 60s.

“I am deeply saddened by the news that we’ve dreaded since the earliest days of this outbreak: the first COVID-19 related death in Illinois,” Pritzker said in a statement. “All of Illinois stands with this patient’s family and loved ones in mourning her loss and honoring her memory. May her memory be a blessing. There are going to be moments during the next few weeks and months when this burden feels like it is more than we can bear – this is one of those moments, but we will get through this together.”

In the wake of the cluster at the long-term care facility, Illinois officials said have released updated guidance for nursing homes.

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Besides canceling all group activities and communal dining, officials have restricted all visitation except for certain compassionate care situations, such as end-of-life residents. Illinois officials have also told nursing homes to restrict all volunteers and non-essential health care personnel.

Nursing homes are also implementing active screening of residents and health care personnel for fever and respiratory symptoms

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

The IDPH is reporting 160 COVID-19 cases in 15 counties in Illinois, sickening people between the ages of 9 to 91.

Chicago’s health commissioner said Tuesday that the numbers are expected to keep rising.

“I suspect we are going to see a lot more cases in the days to come because we are seeing a lot more testing,” said Dr. Allison Arwady. “That is a good thing.”

Homeless in California see handwashing stations arrive at camps amid coronavirus threat

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Although one of the groups in California most vulnerable to the coronavirus is getting some help to prevent its spread, the homeless population continues to face hardships from the pandemic, advocates said.

There are about 151,000 homeless individuals in California, with the Golden State having half of the country’s total street homeless population. The group is particularly susceptible to COVID-19, which is spread through coughing and sneezing.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier this week that state and local authorities would be working to move homeless individuals into hotels and motels purchased by the state in recent days and into 450 state-owned trailers.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

In the state capital, Sacramento, more than 5,500 people are homeless on any given night, according to county data.

Handwashing stations were established recently near homeless camps in the city after Crystal Sanchez, president of the Sacramento chapter of the National Homeless Union, began fundraising for them.

Handwashing stations have been delivered to homeless camps around Sacramento amid the coronavirus outbreak.
(FOX40)

“Some people don’t like washing their hands,” Donald Miller, who is homeless, told FOX40. “But me, I like washing mine every day. If I have to, I’ll do it all day.”

The handwashing stations began arriving Tuesday and will be replaced once a week as they are restocked with soap, water and paper towels.

The handwashing stations will be replaced once a week as they are restocked with new soap, water, and paper towels.

“We have six locations, five in each location,” Sanchez told FOX40.

Miller said that he would help maintain the new sinks so they don’t get trashed.

“Because some people, they be doing things they shouldn’t be doing,” he said Tuesday. “So I’m going to be making sure it don’t happen.”

Sanchez told FOX40 that the pandemic is creating additional hardships for the homeless population, as fast-food restaurants shutter dining areas and only to-go orders are offered elsewhere.

WHEN WILL CORONAVIRUS PEAK IN THE US? DIRE REPORT SHOWS WHY ‘FLATTENING THE CURVE’ MATTERS

“Places like Loaves and Fishes are now closing at noon, so access to food right now is really becoming hard,” she told FOX40.

Homeless advocates said since homeless people are running out of places to buy ready-to-eat meals, people should consider helping with food bank donation.

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There were at least 718 cases of coronavirus confirmed in California as of Wednesday morning. One homeless person died in Santa Clara County from the virus on Monday, according to FOX40.

California has urged all people 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions to stay indoors as the virus spreads.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier this week that state and local authorities would be working to move homeless individuals into hotels and motels purchased by the state in recent days.
(FOX 40)

The state’s 415 hospitals have been planning for a surge of patients. They have about 88,000 beds and Newsom said health officials are running models to determine needs based on various infection rates and resulting hospitalizations. Under worst-case scenarios, California could be short 20,000 beds, he said.

“So we had a very candid and a sober, if not sobering, conversation about where we may be and where we need to go together,” he said after the meeting with hospital officials. “The good news is none of it surprised any of us. We, as a state, working with our system, anticipated much of these needs and have been running plans to address them.”

Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

NYC may use Javits Center as ‘medical surge facility’ as coronavirus cases jump

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As the number of coronavirus cases in the state of New York jumped again Wednesday to the highest in the nation, officials in New York City are floating the idea of using the city’s largest convention center as a way to boost much-needed medical capacity.

The state of New York leads the nation with 1,708 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday morning, a 76.6 percent increase in 24 hours. At least 13 deaths have also been reported in the Empire State connected to the virus.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on recently retired health care providers to act as “reserve staff” as the state grapples with the deadly virus outbreak in case of staffing shortages.

“We are seeking recently retired health professionals as reserve staff if the need arises,” Cuomo tweeted.

CORONAVIRUS IN THE US: STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

Cuomo also included a website that links to a survey for interested retirees that asks for help to “supplement our hospital capacity on a temporary basis to treat seriously ill coronavirus patients including those that may need to be intubated.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned New Yorkers to be prepared for a potential shelter-in-place order, similar to what has already been declared in the San Francisco Bay Area.

A pedestrian passes a nearly empty Fulton Center station as businesses are closed due to coronavirus concerns, Monday, March 16, 2020, in New York.
(AP)

“It’s definitely a possibility,” de Blasio said Tuesday. “A decision will be made within the next 48 hours.”

He did say that such an order would be “particularly difficult in a city like New York,” and many New Yorkers would lose their jobs under such a scenario.

Cuomo’s office, however, has pushed back slightly at taking blanket action, saying late Tuesday: “Any blanket quarantine or shelter-in-place policy would require state action and as the governor has said, there is no consideration of that for any locality at this time.”

The city has asked the state to use the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the west side of Manhattan that’s usually home to New York Comic Con and the New York International Auto Show as a “potential medical surge facility,” Politico New York reported.

The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on the west side of Manhattan may be used as a medical surge facility to deal with a spike in coronavirus cases.
(iStock)

A spokesperson for the city’s emergency management department told the news outlet that the city is still awaiting a response from the state.

WHEN WILL CORONAVIRUS PEAK IN THE US? DIRE REPORT SHOWS WHY ‘FLATTENING THE CURVE’ MATTERS

The Javits Center, a facility with 1,800,000 square feet, is one of the busiest convention centers in the U.S.

The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Hell’s Kitchen. The convention center is considered one of the busiest in the USA.
(Google Street View)

The idea has gained traction among members of the New York City Council. Councilman Stephen Levin said Monday that large event spaces such as Madison Square Garden and the Javits Center could be repurposed as a sort of a “sick ward” for people “moderately ill” with COVID-19 symptoms.

“So we’re gonna run out of hospital beds. Not in the next couple of days, but in all likelihood in the next few weeks,” Levin tweeted. “We need to start prepping.”

Levin argued that moving those moderately sick out of city emergency rooms will free up needed care for those who need hospitalization with severe symptoms due to the virus.

New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson also spoke up for the idea in a radio interview, saying: “We’re going to have to identify places, maybe the Javits Center, maybe Madison Square Garden” that can quarantine and isolate coronavirus victims,” according to Politico.

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In order to expand medical facilities in New York to handle an expected surge of patients, Cuomo has previously called on President Trump to deploy the Army Corps of Engineers to start erecting field hospitals

“It’s only a matter of time before our state’s ICU beds fill up,” Cuomo tweeted Monday as he referred to hospital intensive care units. “The federal government must act.”

Defense Secretary Mark Esper told “Special Report with Bret Baier” Tuesday that he spoke with Cuomo about his calls for the help to refit or build new hospitals to manage the outbreak.

“I had a call with Governor Cuomo and we had a very good conversation,” Esper said. “What he sees is a deficit in hospital beds in New York state as he looks ahead to what may be coming. I gave him my full commitment that we would get the Corps of Engineers up there soonest to assess the problem and see how we can help out.”

Fox News’ Melissa Leon and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.