March 27, 2020 – New York City, NY – Governor Andrew Cuomo entering a press briefing on coronavirus at Jacob Javits Convention Center, where a make-shift hospital is now complete. (Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)
The first 1,000-bed temporary hospital is now complete at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. The facility will fully open on Monday. Congratulations to FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Guard and the staff at Javits for their speedy work. They built an entire hospital in a week — an incredible achievement.
Schools statewide will remain closed until at least April 15th. The state will reassess whether to continue closures at that time. School districts will be required to continue child care, meal and distance learning programs.
The USNS Comfort, a U.S. Navy hospital ship, is expected to arrive in New York Harbor on Monday. It is a massive facility with 1,000 beds, 12 operating rooms, a pharmacy and a laboratory. The Comfort’s beds will be used for non-Coronavirus patients to free up hospital capacity.