Coronavirus: Hoboken Hospital Says It Will Run Out Of Ventilators

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken University Medical Center will run out of protective equipment in six days while treating patients for coronavirus, Mayor Ravi Bhalla said in a nightly update on Thursday, and they urgently need 13 ventilators for critical care patients.

Bhalla said approximately a third of the hospital's patients have the virus or are awaiting test results.

On the city's webpage, he wrote, "The hospital is also near capacity of ventilators for critical patients, and is soon anticipating an additional surge of patients due to COVID-19."

A CBS reporter who went to investigate wrote on Twitter, "I’ve seen 6 people walk into ER in an hour. All in masks. Can hear the cough from in my car across street. And it’s terrifying."

Hoboken's hospital is one of six in Hudson County.

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Bhalla wrote, "Today, I joined Council President Jen Giattino and officials from Carepoint to make an urgent plea to the federal government to secure additional resources for our local hospital. According to hospital officials, the hospital is projected to run out of personal protective equipment (PPE) including N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, gloves, and more in less than six days...Our plea today [to local legislators] was for Hoboken’s hospital to receive its fair share, where lives are on the lines and decisions are being made based on the equipment in stock."

"With Carepoint near capacity and resources running short, I continue to ask residents to only utilize our hospital’s emergency room if it is a true emergency. If you have [personal protective equipment] to donate, please be sure to email Sgt. Montanez, the head of Hoboken’s Office of Emergency Management at Montanezw@hobokenpd.org."

Bhalla also said in his update that a police officer has tested positive for the virus, as well as 55 other people in the city.

[WATCH: Hoboken residents cheer emergency workers from their windows.]

"The Hoboken Health Department reported 16 new confirmed COVID-19 cases today, our highest single day total yet, for a total of 56 confirmed cases," he wrote. "A Hoboken police officer also tested positive today, however the officer has not worked on duty in Hoboken since March 7 and has had no contact with Hoboken police officers since March 11."

The state had a total of 81 deaths from the virus and 6,876 confirmed cases, as of Thursday.

Residents who have questions about coronavirus can call 211 or contact the State of New Jersey's hotline at 1 (800) 222-1222.

Experts say that the novel coronavirus, because it's new, is more lethal and much harder to treat than the flu.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

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