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New York Orders Huge Amount Of Chloroquine, Begins Trials; Trump Calls Out Media’s Double Standard

   DailyWire.com
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks to the media after meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on January 18, 2017 at Trump Tower in New York City. Donald Trump is to be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on January 20. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
John Moore/Getty Images

New York’s Democratic governor has ordered a massive amount of a potential COVID-19 treatment that President Trump has been promoting for several days, a message that has been met with some pushback from the Trump-critical mainstream media.

In a press release Sunday, the office of the governor detailed a series of actions New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is taking to address the coronavirus pandemic, which has resulted in over 15,000 confirmed cases in the state thus far. Among the steps Cuomo is taking is the acquiring of 70,000 doses of Hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of Zithromax and 750,000 doses of Chloroquine, with emergency trials for the potential treatments starting on Tuesday.

Additionally, Cuomo “urged the FDA to immediately approve serological testing for COVID-19 antibodies, which will help determine which individuals already had the virus and resolved,” the press release explains. “This will allow more individuals to return to work, including healthcare workers to help address the shortage of medical staff in hospitals.”

In a social media post Monday, President Trump pointed out Cuomo’s agreement with him on the potential of hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment and also noted the media’s apparent double standard on the testing the use of the drug.

“The Media is hopeless. Too bad!” Trump tweeted in response to a post highlighting the media’s glaringly different response to Trump calling for the testing of the drugs and Cuomo’s same message.

“President Trump: ‘We must try hydroxychloroquine & azithromycin.’ The Media: ‘That’s false hope! It’s not approved for use yet!'” reads the retweeted post from Newsmax White House correspondent Emerald Robinson. “New York Gov. Cuomo: ‘We must try hydroxychloroquine & azithromycin.’ The Media: ‘This is real leadership! What a fantastic idea!'”

Related: Over 65 Doctors, Medical Professionals And Scientists Call For Government To Use Hydroxychloroquine To Fight Coronavirus

Below is an excerpt of the New York Governor’s Office press release issued Sunday:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today accepted the recommendation of the Army Corps of Engineers for four temporary hospital sites in New York State in an effort to address imminent capacity issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor visited the four sites – the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and locations at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old Westbury and the Westchester Convention Center — yesterday, and New York State is ready for the Army Corps of Engineers to begin construction immediately. Hospitals at the SUNY campus sites will be constructed indoors with outdoor tent support and the dormitories on the campuses will be used for healthcare staff to stay while working at the sites.

Governor Cuomo also announced that FEMA will erect four additional federal hospital facilities within the Javits Center, in addition to the temporary hospital to be constructed by the Army Corps. Each of the four federal hospitals will have 250 beds and come fully equipped and fully staffed by the federal government.

The Governor also announced that the state is continuing to quickly identify sites to repurpose existing healthcare facilities to be used as temporary hospitals. The state on Saturday leased the Brooklyn Health Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare to serve as a temporary hospital with capacity up to 600 beds.

Additionally, Governor Cuomo called on the federal government to immediately implement the Defense Production Act and nationalize the contracting and acquisition of medical supplies. New York State is already seeing a shortage in medical supplies and personal protective equipment – or PPE – including masks, gloves, gowns and ventilators. This shortage is also impacting other states, leading to price gouging by companies, hospitals competing with one another and states competing with other states and even other countries for supplies. Implementing the Defense Production Act would give the federal government legal authority to mandate private companies to manufacture these critical supplies for all states.

The Governor also called on the federal government to prioritize sending stimulus funding to individuals, state and local governments and businesses. As part of his call, the Governor made it clear that funding to corporations should not be a gift at the expense of taxpayers, and that taxpayers must share in the success of corporations.

The Governor also announced that the state will begin to implement drug trials and has acquired 70,000 doses of Hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of Zithromax and 750,000 doses of Chloroquine. The trials will start Tuesday.

Governor Cuomo also urged the FDA to immediately approve serological testing for COVID-19 antibodies, which will help determine which individuals already had the virus and resolved. This will allow more individuals to return to work, including healthcare workers to help address the shortage of medical staff in hospitals.

Governor Cuomo also announced a new State Department of Health Emergency Order requiring all hospitals to develop plans to expand capacity within hospitals. The plan must expand capacity by a minimum of 50 percent with a goal of expanding capacity by 100 percent.

The Governor also announced that the state will mandate that all hospitals must cancel all elective, non-critical surgeries to help expand hospital capacity – effective Wednesday, March 25th.

Related: Coronavirus Victim, 52, Said Good-Bye To Family, Prepared to Die; Says Hydroxychloroquine Saved His Life

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The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  New York Orders Huge Amount Of Chloroquine, Begins Trials; Trump Calls Out Media’s Double Standard