Military News:
The Race to Turn Hotels Into Coronavirus Hospitals The US is desperate for hospital beds. The US Army Corps of Engineers can build thousands of them in a matter of days: The stakes are impossibly high. Take New York City, the current epicenter of the coronavirus in America and also the locus of the USACE’s efforts. New York governor Andrew Cuomo estimated Tuesday that the state would need 140,000 hospital beds to care for the incoming wave of Covid-19 patients, with an apex coming within 14 to 21 days. There are 53,000 beds under normal circumstances. Cuomo has ordered hospitals to increase capacity by 50 percent, and more if they’re able, but that still leaves a shortfall. Enter the USACE. Specifically, enter a standardized design, created by the Corps, that with a few site-specific modifications can turn any hotel or dorm space—or convention center—into a makeshift hospital. The USACE has created a model that can be replicated in any city in the country, quickly. (USACE built things like the panama canal and huge dams) |
Federal News:
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