Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul dismissed as "fearmongering" the concerns raised by local officials regarding the possible transfer of ventilators from local hospitals to New York City.
Hochul worked to calm fears that local facilities would be left without ventilators as COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the region. She said the governor is taking a survey of "the needs of the hospitals in those communities and also be able to redeploy (ventilators), if necessary. So, he's just simply reserving the right to do this."
Despite the criticism of local leaders who are "trying to politicize this issue," Hochul maintains the governor is committed to the area. She pointed to as proof the assistance Albany has provided to Western New York during severe winter storms in recent years. The governor, she says, will deploy resources to this area as the need arises.
"We are doing an hour-by-hour assessment of the needs in every single hospital," Hochul said.
"If you simply do a survey of all the hospital beds that are being filled, whether they're people needing ventilators, there is surplus supply."
