Coronavirus: New York forced to redistribute ventilators

Ventilators will be taken from certain New York hospitals and redistributed to the worst-hit parts of the state under an order to be signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

New York saw its highest single-day increase in deaths, up by 562 to 2,935 - nearly half of all virus-related US deaths recorded yesterday.

The White House may advise those in virus hotspots to wear face coverings in public to help stem the spread.

The US now has 245,658 Covid-19 cases.

A shortage of several hundred ventilators in New York City, the epicentre of the outbreak in the US, prompted Mr Cuomo to say that he will order the machines be taken from various parts of the state and give them to harder-hit areas.

Amid a deepening crisis, top health official Dr Anthony Fauci has said he believes all states should issue stay-at-home orders.

"I don't understand why that's not happening," Dr Fauci told CNN on Thursday. "If you look at what's going on in this country, I just don't understand why we're not doing that."

"You've got to put your foot on the accelerator to bring that number down," he added, referring to infection and death rates.

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The comments from Dr Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, appeared to contradict those of President Trump, who has consistently dismissed the notion of a nationwide lockdown.

"It's awfully tough to say, 'close it down.' We have to have a little bit of flexibility," Mr Trump said on Wednesday.

What's happening in New York?

New York state remains the epicentre of the US coronavirus outbreak with at least 102,863 positive cases.

The more than 500 person spike in deaths state-wide over the past day is more than half of that reported in a single day in both Spain and Italy, the countries with greatest fatalities.

New York City is the worst-hit area of the state, with 1,562 deaths, Johns Hopkins University reports.

Mr Cuomo warned on Friday that people would die unnecessarily because of a lack of equipment in the areas most devastated by the outbreak.

The governor said he would deploy the National Guard to enforce a new executive order giving the state authority to take and redistribute ventilators from hospitals and other healthcare institutions to facilities in parts of the state most urgently in need.

These institutions will either receive their supplies back or be reimbursed, he said.

"I'm not going to let people die," Mr Cuomo said of the order.

Mr Cuomo said this week that New York will need nearly 37,000 ventilators for the "apex" of the state's outbreak, expected to hit at the end of April. Bill de Blasio, the New York City mayor, said the metropolis needs 400 additional ventilators by Sunday.

What's the debate over masks?

Both the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are reassessing their guidance on face masks, as experts race to find ways to fight the highly contagious virus.

Covid-19 is carried in airborne droplets from people coughing or sneezing, but there is some dispute over how far people should distance themselves from each other, and whether masks are useful when used by the public.

The WHO advises that ordinary face masks are only effective if combined with careful hand-washing and social-distancing, and so far it does not recommend them generally for healthy people.

However, more and more health experts now say there are benefits. They argue that the public use of masks can primarily help by preventing asymptomatic patients - people who have been infected with Covid-19 but are not aware, and not displaying any symptoms - from unknowingly spreading the virus to others.

Masks may also help lower the risk of individuals catching the virus through the droplets from another person's sneeze or a cough - and people can be taught how put masks on and take them off correctly they argue.

On Thursday New York mayor Bill de Blasio urged all New Yorkers to cover their faces when outside and near others, but not to use surgical masks, which are in short supply.

It could be a scarf. It could be something you create yourself at home. It could be a bandana," he said.

Governor Cuomo weighed in on Friday, saying "I think it's fair to say that the masks couldn't hurt unless they gave you a false sense of security.

Meanwhile, residents in Laredo, Texas will now face a $1,000 (£816) fine if they fail to cover their noses and mouths while outside, after city officials issued an emergency ordinance to its approximately 250,000 residents this week.