NEW YORK — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced an emergency order Monday mandating that all hospitals in the state increase their capacities by 50% in order to handle the surge of coronavirus patients.

As cases of COVID-19 skyrocketed to nearly 21,000, making New York the state with the most diagnoses of the virus, Cuomo said hospitals are required to increase capacity by 50% and asked that they try to double it. State health officials report that 2,635 people are hospitalized and 621 of them are in the intensive care unit.

New York state has 53,000 beds and about 3,000 ICU beds. Health officials estimate that the state will need 110,000 beds and 18,000 to 37,000 ICU beds.

In addition to increasing the capacity of existing hospitals, the state is establishing four temporary health care facilities, including in the Javits Center in New York City, a facility that can accomodate 1,000 beds. Officials say New York City has nearly 170,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

Other facilities will be set up in Stony Brook, Westchester County and Old Westbury.

Coronavirus in NYC Causes Uncertainty View All 22 Images

As testing has increased, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has reached 35,345, and health care facilities are struggling to meet the demands of the pandemic. Health care workers are facing extreme shortages of personal protective equipment, and Cuomo announced that the state will be receiving 339,760 N95 masks, 861,700 surgical masks, 353,500 gloves and 145,122 gowns.

Of that, 169,880 N95 masks, 430,850 surgical masks, 176,750 gloves and 72,561 gowns were being allotted for New York City. The governor called on the federal government to enforce the Federal Defense Production Act and require that factories manufacture a certain number of masks.

"A lot of companies are stepping up, but more needs to be done," Cuomo said. "Use federal powers. This is a national emergency."