A major New York City hospital is using makeshift tents to screen some people with symptoms of the novel coronavirus away from other patients

  • NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital has set up triage tents outside of some locations to screen patients with symptoms of the novel coronavirus.
  • The tents are meant to protect patients and staff while screening and treating low-risk patients with symptoms.
  • New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has resisted New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's calls to put the city in "shelter-in-place" mode, but did order all workers at non-essential businesses in the state to stay home on Friday.
  • The mayor said Friday that the city could run out of "basic medical supplies" by early April.
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The New York Presbyterian hospital in New York City is setting up makeshift, outdoor tents to screen some patients with symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

The tents are being set up outside of emergency rooms in an effort to screen low-risk patients with symptoms away from other patients and staff.

The hospital posted another photo of one of the tents on its Instagram page, and said: "In an effort to keep all patients and staff safe and to best prepare for surges of #COVID19 related visits, erected triage tents will be used at some of our campuses adjacent to our Emergency Departments to screen low-risk patients."

According to Rich Stradling of The Charlotte News-Observer, UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill and Duke University Hospital in Durham have set up similar triage tents to screen and treat patients. China panic-built two hospitals and retrofitted sports stadiums in Wuhan to keep up with the surge in patients with the disease who needed hospital beds and ventilators.

The development in New York comes as cases of COVID-19 have soared in the United States. As of Friday morning, the US had over 14,000 cases and 212 reported deaths. Officials expect the numbers to keep rising as more people are tested for the virus.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday the "explosion" of cases in the city is "staggering." He has been advocating for a shelter-in-place order, though New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has rebuked the calls. Cuomo ordered all workers at non-essential businesses in the state to stay home on Friday.

NYC and the US as a whole are both facing a dire shortage of protective medical devices and gear.

"We don't have masks, we don't have ventilators," de Blasio said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Friday, adding: "At the beginning of April we will run out of basic medical supplies."

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