Gov. Andrew Cuomo during a March 27 coronavirus press briefing at the Javits Center in New York. | Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images Cuomo plans to use National Guard to seize ventilators from upstate facilities

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that he would use the National Guard to take ventilators and protective equipment from hospitals and other health care facilities in upstate New York where they're not in use to deploy the lifesaving equipment in the New York City area.

"I'm not going to be in a position where people are dying and we have several hundred ventilators in our own state, somewhere else," Cuomo said on Friday during his daily briefing. “I apologize for the hardship to those institutions — ultimately there is no hardship, if you don't get the ventilator back, I give you my personal word I will pay you for the ventilator — but I’m not going to let people die because we didn’t redeploy these ventilators."


He plans to sign an executive order to give the state the power to take equipment from private hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities. Cuomo objected to a reporter's question saying the state would "seize" ventilators, instead describing it as "sharing" of resources.

“Right now the numbers in upstate New York are lighter than the numbers in downstate New York but that is going to change," Cuomo said. "You're going to see that wave move through the state. ... We're going to shift resources all across the state to whatever place has that need at that time."

The state has estimated it has only a six-day supply of ventilators left based on the current need in the New York City area. There are about 102,800 confirmed coronavirus cases in New York state, with 57,000 in New York City.

More than 14,800 people are hospitalized and 3,700 are in intensive care. There have been 2,935 deaths from the pandemic as of Friday morning.

The state is scrambling to secure more ventilators — taking steps to repurpose other respiratory support machines, canceling elective procedures and trying to procure ventilators from China and elsewhere.

On Thursday, Cuomo said the state would be surveying hospitals on a daily basis to ask them what personal protective equipment — masks, gowns, gloves — they had on hand and ask them to voluntarily contribute to a state stockpile that could then be distributed as needed. The executive order will give him the power to make that mandatory.

“Hospitals who are not dealing with Covid are seeing very low activity and it’s not that we’re going to leave any health care facility without adequate equipment, but they don't need excess equipment,” the governor said.

The governor’s plan drew concern from some upstate Congressional lawmakers, including Republican Rep. Tom Reed.

“Taking our ventilators by force leaves people without protection and hospitals unable to save lives today or respond to a coming surge,” he said on Twitter. He added: “We stand together opposing the Governor's very dangerous and reckless action of taking our ventilators. He is leaving our communities in a terrible position which will cost lives.”

Rep. Elise Stefanik, who represents the North Country, also raised concerns about the impact on her district which has a large number of older people.

“Our rural hospitals are already very limited in resources & we must ensure Upstate’s needs for testing supplies & ventilators are met,” she wrote on Twitter. “I’m committed to working thru these concerns.”

Cuomo said it's not yet clear how many ventilators might be found at upstate institutions but estimated there may be "several hundred excess."

"Several hundred could represent several hundred lives so am I willing to deploy the National Guard and inconvenience people for several hundred lives, you're damn right I am," the governor said.