China donates 1,000 ventilators to help coronavirus-stricken New York

The breathing equipment will arrive at JFK Airport on Saturday

The Chinese government has donated 1,000 ventilators to the State of New York to help officials there battle its worsening coronavirus pandemic. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed the gift on Saturday, and said the breathing equipment would be arriving in the city later today.

He told a press conference: ‘China has given us…a donation of 1,000 ventilators that is going to come into JFK (international airport) today. That is a big deal – it’s going to make a big difference for us.’ Cuomo said the west coast state of Oregon had also donated 140 ventilators, with New York set to hit its coronavirus ‘apex’ – when it will see the most daily diagnoses and deaths The governor said Saturday that New York could hit its apex within the next seven days, but previously warned that the Empire State could face another four weeks of exponential increases before the pandemic peaks.

Cuomo shared news of the donation after announcing 10,814 new Covid-19 diagnoses overnight, and 630 new deaths across the state. He said 15,505 people are currently in hospital with Covid-19, with 4,126 patients in intensive care. He added that 10,478 people who were hospitalized have been discharged, and said that around two thirds of people admitted to hospital are subsequently recovering. New York City is the state’s coronavirus update, with diagnoses rising by 6,147 to 63,606 overnight. A total of 2,624 people have been killed by coronavirus across the Big Apple’s five boroughs. A total of 113,704 people across the entire state have tested Covid-19 positive. The number of people hospitalized has rocketed by 1,095, with the number receiving intensive care treatment rising by 395.

Coronavirus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, with the country’s government facing growing questions over claims it lied after reporting that just 81,000 people across China caught the virus, and adding that less than 4,000 killed by it.

On Friday, White House immunologist Dr Anthony Fauci – America’s top infectious disease expert – blamed ‘wet markets’ where wild animals are slaughtered for food for the pandemic that is now gripping the world.