Slamming 73-year-old President Donald Trump for his poor handling of the coronavirus crisis AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19, 58-year-old New York City mayor took out his frustration on New York’s billionaire real estate mogul. De Blasio has panicked over New York City getting swamped with Covid-19 cases with 15,801 cases and 114 deaths, mostly in New York City’s five boroughs. Like Italy, the hardest hit European country with 59,138 cases and 5,476 deaths, New York City has the nightmarish population density where some 8.623 million people reside. New York State’s population of 19.63 million, mostly concentrated in the New York City area. De Blasion, who fell on his face running in the 2020 Democratic primaries, has no future in statewide or national politics. De Blasion finds himself despised by his own fire and police departments.
Going after Trump smacks of pure politics when de Blasio knows the president and his coronaviirus team have been working nonstop to deal with potential shortages of life-saving medical equipment, including N95 masks and ventilators for gravely ill patients. ”The president of the United States is from New York City and he will not lift a finger to help his hometown, and I don’t get it,” de Blasio told NBC’s Chuck Todd on “Meet the Press.” De Blasio feels right at home with Todd, one of the most biased, anti-Trump newscasters on the air wavers. Having a hate-fest with Todd, plays into Democrat politics heading into a bruising election season. Waiting in the wings, Democrat presumptive nominee former Vice President Joe Biden (D-Del.) has also taken shots at Trump, saying he bungled the Covid-19 crisis. De Blasio demanaded that Trump call out the National Guard and Reserves to help NYC.
Reports of New York’s emergency rooms and hospitals inundated with Covid-19 cases are grossly exaggerated. Panic-stricken residents, listening to broadcasters on major networks and 24/7 cables news channels, have flooded hospitals and ERs, despite the fact they don’t quality for treatment. Under 20% of Covid-19 cases require any medical intervention, despite flocking to NYC’s ERs and Urgent Care Centers. Anyone with a fever and a sore throat rushes in panic to NYC’s hospitals, ERs and Urgent Care Centers. “I don’t get it. Right now, I have asked repeatedly for the military to be mobilized for the Defense Production Act [DPA] to be used to its fullest to get us things like ventilators, so people can live who would die otherwise,” de Blasio said. De Blasio knows that less than 10% of Covid-19 patients require Intensive Care, including life support equipment like ventilators.
California’s 52-year-old Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the White House for “Mercy,” the Navy’s 1,000-bed hospital ship hospital to accept coronavirus patients. California only has 1,555 Covid-19 cases with 29 deaths, a death rate of only 1.8%. Newsom demanded the military supply more hospital beds to California, while the state has 72,000 hospital beds, 7,200 for Intensive Care Units [ICU]. Once again, Newsom knows that only 10% of coronavirus cases require hospitalization, let alone ICUs. Instead of issuing guidelines for panic-stricken patients with the common cold, seasonal flu or Covid-19, Newsom and de Blasio make irresponsible demands on the federal government. De Blasio wants the Army Corps of Engineers to build a massive hospital complex in New York harbor along West Highway. De Blasio should inform NYC residents, with or without symptoms, to stop burdening the system.
Like Newsom, de Blasion admitted his histrionics is about getting the federal government to pony up cash and medical supplies for NYC. De Blasio should be instructing NYC residents how to respond if they develop Covid-19 symptoms. “The American government is not at full bore right now,” de Blasio said. “The Defense Production Act [DPA], it’s been activated. We’ve gotten no indication of any factory on 24/7 shifts, we’ve gotten no shipments and the U.S. military instead on the sidelines,” speaking through his hat. De Blasio knows that medical equipment makers are gearing up to meet pent up demands. By far, de Blasio’s biggest obstacle is himself, not properly communicating with NYC residents. With the incidence of serious medical issues low for Covid-19 cases, de Blasio shouldn’t spend his time ripping the president but finding ways to help the situation.
If there’s a problem in NYC in managing Covid-19, it has to do with poor communication to the public, not knowing that residents don’t have to rush to a hospitals with a fever or sore throat. De Blasio wants to take a political shots at Trump but can’t figure out how to govern NYC’s 8.623 million residents. Trump’s coronavirus task force has pulled out all-the-stops to get more N95 masks, other protective gear, and ventilators to the small fraction of Covid-19 cases that require it. Some 90% of Covid cases require no hospitalization or fancy medical equipment, only, like the common cold or seasonal flu, time to isolate and get better. “We cannot be gentle about this point—right this minute, from this minute forward, our federal government needs to be in this fight instead of on the sidelines,” de Blasio told Todd, taking more political shots. If de Blasio did his job to inform the public, NYC residents would be better off.
