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Field hospital under construction in Central Park to help with New York outbreak

Field hospital under construction in Central Park to help with New York outbreak
Field hospital under construction in Central Park to help with New York outbreak
Posted at 10:44 AM, Mar 30, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-30 12:44:57-04

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- A field hospital is under construction in Central Park, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday.

The 68-bed hospital is a partnership between Mount Sinai Hospital, Samaritan's Purse and the Central Park Conversancy, according to de Blasio.

The mayor says the field hospital will be in the East Meadow area and operational by Tuesday.

“People are dying from the coronavirus, hospitals are out of beds, and the medical staff are overwhelmed,” said Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse. “We are deploying our Emergency Field Hospital to New York to help carry this burden. This is what Samaritan’s Purse does—we respond in the middle of crises to help people in Jesus’ Name."

The Javits Center will also be transformed into a COVID-19 hospital.

New York has become one of the epicenters of the pandemic in the U.S. More than 33,000 people in New York City have tested positive for the coronavirus. Statewide, over 60,000 cases have been confirmed, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This story was originally published by Aliza Chasan at WPIX.