Andrew Cuomo Tells Hospitals to Recruit Retired Doctors ‘NOW’ amid Coronavirus Surge

New York is preparing to recruit retired doctors and nurses to staff hospitals dealing with a surge in coronavirus cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday.

The governor called it a “new phase in the war against COVID [Chinese coronavirus],” according to the New York Post, adding that daily hospitalizations across the state are almost quadruple what they were in June.

Cuomo said every hospital in New York must compile a list of retired doctors and nurses they can call on because of staffing problems in some areas.

“I am very worried about staff shortages. I’m more concerned about the staff shortage than I am the [number of hospital] beds. We can build beds. We can’t create more staff. And the staff is starting tired,” he explained.

In a tweet Monday morning, the governor shared an infographic titled Initiate Emergency Hospital Procedures, with the first point reading, “Staff shortage: identify retired nurses and doctors NOW”:

We are laser-focused on ensuring enough hospital capacity as COVID surges.

Today @HealthNYGov is initiating emergency hospital measures.

Hospitals are directed to identify retired staff, make plans to add 50% bed capacity, confirm they have a 90-day PPE stockpile, and more. pic.twitter.com/6XzF4jXFxY

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) November 30, 2020

In a subsequent post, Cuomo told residents to stop attending small gatherings immediately.

“Hospitalizations are climbing — statewide. What can you do? Cut out the small gatherings. Now. 65% of all cases are traced to small gatherings. Gov’t can’t enforce who’s in your living room. But you can,” he wrote.

As his state prepares to go into another lockdown that could put thousands out of work, Cuomo accepted his International Emmy Award last week by claiming victory and saying his press conferences offered “authentic truth and stability,” according to Breitbart News.

“In what became a Cuomo love-in for the so-called ‘Love Gov,’ a chorus of celebrities joined in to sing the governor’s praises,” the report continued:

Absent from the ceremony was any mention of Gov. Cuomo’s March directive ordering New York nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients, which caused the virus to spread like wild fire among that state’s elderly and infirm population. His decision contributed to the state’s COVID-19 mortality rate, which currently ranks as the second highest in the nation.

“Cuomo’s nursing home mandate reportedly led to 6,000 nursing home deaths from the coronavirus,” the article read.