New York Health Commissioner Howard Zucker told legislators that hospitals had enough protective gear for their healthcare workers when the COVID-19 crisis was at its worst in the state, despite many reports to the contrary, according to the New York Post.
“Just because something is reported doesn’t mean those are the facts of what is actually happening and what’s reported on the news,” state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said during a virtual state legislative hearing on the impact of COVID-19 on the state’s hospitals.
Zucker, who insisted he had been in contact with hospital administrators “on a regular basis,” was referring to media reports dating back to March when the coronavirus crisis was mounting in the Empire State showing hospitals’ dire struggle with the lack of much-needed PPE.
In March, The Post exclusively revealed that nurses at Manhattan’s Mount Sinai West were so desperate for the safety gear that they resorted to wearing garbage bags while treating COVID-19 patients.
“I also spoke to the physicians and the nurses in many of the hospitals and the leadership and asked these questions [about PPE],” Zucker told state lawmakers during the hearing.
“And there was,” Zucker claimed. “We provided 24 million pieces of PPE and there was available PPE to all those who needed it — granted there were different policies put into place about how to preserve some of the PPE equipment, but we were pushing also to get more PPE.”
Read the full story at the New York Post.
