- New York state and city officials plan to close some streets in the nation’s largest city, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
- He also said they may close parks and playgrounds to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
- He said the $2 trillion federal stimulus deal Congress reached early Wednesday carves out $3.8 billion for New York state, and that won’t be enough.
- “The hole is as high as $15 billion. How do you plug a $15 billion hole with $3.8 billion? You don’t,” he said.
NYC morgues near capacity, DHS briefing warns
Officials were told that morgues in the city are expected to reach capacity next week, per the briefing.
The Department of Homeland Security has been briefed that New York City’s morgues are nearing capacity, according to a department official and a second person familiar with the situation.
Officials were told that morgues in the city are expected to reach capacity next week, per the briefing. A third person familiar with the situation in New York said that some of the city’s hospital morgues hit capacity over the last seven days.
If the available morgue space in New York City fills up as the number of COVID-19 deaths increases, federal help will be available, a former senior administration official said, noting that the George W. Bush administration sent mortuary assistance in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the September 11 attacks.
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams (DMORT), which can help set up temporary morgues. The teams operate in response to requests from local authorities.