More than 52,000 of the country's cases are in New York state alone.
It was unclear what a quarantine of the tri-state area would entail, though Trump said it would be "enforceable" and restrict travel from the areas in question.
Trump's announcement came just as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was addressing his state in a news conference, where Cuomo said he spoke with the President Saturday morning.
When asked about the President's comments, Cuomo said a quarantine had not been a topic of discussion.
In an interview with CNN's Ana Cabrera Saturday evening, Cuomo likened the tactic to a "federal declaration of war."
"It would be chaos and mayhem," he said. "It's totally opposite everything he's been saying. I don't think it is plausible. I don't think it is legal."
At that point, Cuomo had still not spoken with the President about the idea. Neither the governors of Connecticut nor New Jersey have heard from the president about a possible quarantine either, they said.
New York officials forecast the apex of the pandemic in the state is still 14 to 21 days away. At that point, the state expects it will need 140,000 hospital beds, Cuomo said.
To increase capacity, New York and its National Guard are
assembling four 1,000-bed temporary, overflow hospitals in existing
buildings. One, at Manhattan's Javits Convention Center, will open
Monday, Cuomo said. The USNS Comfort is set
to arrive in New York City[3]
the same day, providing another 1,000 beds. Meanwhile, officials
elsewhere are concerned their states could follow in New
York's footsteps[4]. In Los Angeles County,
cases more than tripled in six
days[5], and one official says
numbers will keep going up. Health Director Barbara Ferrer says she
expects to see case counts in Los Angeles double every four days
for the next two to three weeks.
"No matter where you are, this is coming to you," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Thursday. "Take all the measures you can now to make sure people are home."
Pandemic will hit these states hard, top US doctor says
New hot spots have emerged across the country as case numbers escalate, including Detroit, Chicago and New Orleans, US Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams told "CBS This Morning" on Friday.
The crisis in Chicago was underscored Saturday when state
health officials reported the death of an infant under the age of
one who had tested positive for the coronavirus -- believed to be
the youngest person to have died with the
virus[7] in the United States.
Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike announced the death during a Saturday news conference. "A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death," Ezike said.
"The number of Covid patients we are getting is rapidly increasing every day," she said, "and all of us collectively worry about what will happen as it gets worse if this is where we are starting."
University of Chicago Medicine officials did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.
But there is a shortage of lab technicians able to analyze coronavirus tests, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, adding that even if he were able to obtain more machines for testing analysis, they wouldn't have enough people to operate them.
In Louisiana, where deaths surged by more than 40% in a single day this week and continue to jump daily, hospitals are already working under stress.
"This is going to be the disaster that defines our generation," said Collin Arnold, director of the city's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
100,000 ventilators in 100 days
More than 196 million Americans are under orders to stay inside to help combat the virus.
Some of its key elements include sending checks directly to individuals and families, a major expansion of unemployment benefits, money for hard-hit hospitals and health care providers, financial assistance for small businesses and $500 billion in loans for distressed companies.
State leaders have also urged him to respond to a looming shortage of medical supplies. The administration will facilitate the production or acquisition of "100,000 additional units" of ventilators through other means over a 100-day period, Trump said.
"We are manufacturing a lot of them (ventilators) now, we are accumulating a lot. We are taking a lot through the act," Trump said, referring to the Defense Production Act, which he invoked Friday.
"Maybe we won't even need the full activation," he said. "We will find out, but we need the ventilators."
CNN's Jacqueline Howard, Cheri Mossburg, Matthew Hoye and Hollie Silverman contributed to this report.
References
- ^ tweeting (twitter.com)
- ^ the country with the most coronavirus cases in the world (www.cnn.com)
- ^ USNS Comfort is set to arrive in New York City (www.cnn.com)
- ^ could follow in New York's footsteps (www.cnn.com)
- ^ more than tripled in six days (www.publichealth.lacounty.gov)
- ^ FDA approved a coronavirus test (www.cnn.com)
- ^ died with the virus (dph.illinois.gov)
- ^ CNN affiliate WLS reported. (abc7chicago.com)
- ^ told CNN that she's afraid of what the ICU will look like in another week (www.cnn.com)
- ^ ICU rooms had paper bags by the door (www.cnn.com)
- ^ one hospital employee told CNN (www.cnn.com)
- ^ already the epicenter in the state's cases (www.cnn.com)
- ^ the largest emergency aid package in the country's history. (www.cnn.com)
