President Donald Trump said Friday that officials from the two largest hospital conglomerates in the New Orleans area had assured him they "currently" have enough ventilators to treat the coronavirus patients in their medical centers.

He attributed that report to the CEOs of Ochsner Health and LCMC Health, which operate most of the hospitals in the metro area.

The presidents' reassurances clashed with warnings from Gov. John Bel Edwards' administration, which repeated its pleas for more of the devices Friday. Even if there are ventilators available now, state officials pointed to the rapid spread of the virus and internal models that show a grim outlook for ventilator availability in the coming weeks.

"They said they feel that they currently have enough ventilators," Trump said of the local hospital officials during a press conference at the White House on Friday, adding that Louisiana was being sent 230,000 surgical gowns. "I think a lot of people are going to have enough ventilators and masks and appreciate what we did."

What Donald Trump said today on New Orleans having enough ventilators. Said his team spoke with CEOs at Ochsner & LCMC.



“I think a lot of people are going to have enough ventilators.”



State officials have said N.O. could see patients outnumber ventilators as early as April 4. pic.twitter.com/TPhnk7cL7u — Jeff Nowak (@Jeff_Nowak) April 3, 2020

Currently the state has received 150 ventilators from the federal stockpile and another 100 from private vendors, said Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for Edwards. But state modeling still predicts that the number of patients in the New Orleans area who will need of ventilators to stay alive will overwhelm the availability of the machines by April 8.

"We do still feel that day is on the horizon," Stephens said. "We have to do everything in our power to make sure that day doesn’t come."

Edwards has requested 5,000 ventilators from the federal government and the state is working on purchasing thousands more from private suppliers.

"We do have enough ventilator capacity for today but that does not mean we will have enough ventilator capacity moving forward," she said.

Louisiana saw its total number of diagnosed coronavirus cases shoot to 10,297 on Friday, with deaths due to the disease hitting 370. The largest hotspots continue to be in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish, which together account for just under 58% of known cases statewide and 63% of all deaths.

In an emailed statement, Thomas did not elaborate on what he discussed with federal officials or directly address Ochsner's current ventilator supply.

"Ochsner Health is grateful for the support of President Trump and our leaders in Washington to receive an additional 230,000 gowns tomorrow, and for the ongoing efforts of Governor Edwards to ensure we have an adequate supply of ventilators at Ochsner and across the state," Thomas said. "We continue to work with our elected officials and our vendors around the clock to source the necessary supplies and equipment needed for our team members during this unprecedented time."

LCMC Health said in a statement it had received an additional 40 ventilators from the state on Friday, confirming officials feel an "adequate surge supply" is in place.

"We can only speak to our health system’s needs, not those of the entire region or other hospitals around the state," the statement said.

As of Friday, Louisiana had 1,707 hospitalized patients, according to data released by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, with 535 on ventilators.

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Trump did not indicate whether additional ventilators would be sent to New Orleans. The state has about 1,930 ventilators total, with 49% of those are currently in use, according to the state health department.

The New Orleans region had about 60% of its ventilators in use as of Friday, according to health department data, but it was unclear whether that total included any new shipments. There were 252 ventilators listed as not in use.