Coronavirus News: Javits Center in NYC to close temporary hospital next week

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The temporary hospital at the Javits Center in Manhattan will be ending operations between May 3-May 5, according to FEMA information obtained by ABC News.

Other temporary hospitals built out in New York state by FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers will also being shutting down in the coming weeks, now that the surge of coronavirus patients has passed, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office.

Plans call for the medical equipment currently deployed to the various temporary hospitals to remain in place - unless needed elsewhere - in the event a resurgence of COVID-19 necessitates reactivating the facilities.

Last week, ABC News learned that Javits was supposed to shut down at the end of May, but plans changed as hospitals throughout the city were coming back from being overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.

According to FEMA records reviewed by ABC News, New York City hospital beds were 78 percent full Monday, down from 81 percent Sunday. Total ICU capacity was at 84 percent, down from 86 percent Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, Javits had 72 patients, down from 80 on Sunday. A total of 1,094 patients have passed through the temporary facility at New York City's mammoth convention center on the West Side.

Another temporary hospital in New York City is no longer needed, as the USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is scheduled to depart Thursday, April 30, after supporting the Department of Defense's COVID-19 response efforts to New York and New Jersey residents during the coronavirus pandemic.