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Elon Musk says Tesla will reopen its New York factory 'as soon as humanly possible' to help make ventilators - as Gov Cuomo warns 'there is not a stockpile large enough to meet the national need'

Elon Musk has said Tesla will reopen its New York factory 'as soon as humanly possible' to help make and distribute ventilators to...

Elon Musk has said Tesla will reopen its New York factory 'as soon as humanly possible' to help make and distribute ventilators to battle the coronavirus pandemic. 
'Giga New York will reopen for ventilator production as soon as humanly possible. We will do anything in our power to help the citizens of New York,' the billionaire said in a Tweet on Wednesday.  
Medtronic Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak told CNBC earlier in the day that the medical device maker has started working with Tesla, which is fast on track to start production of ventilators at Fremont.
Several other automotive companies, including Ford and General Motors, have offered to use their manufacturing capabilities to ramp up production of ventilators. 
Elon Musk has said Tesla will reopen its New York factory 'as soon as humanly possible' to help make and distribute ventilators to battle the coronavirus pandemic
Elon Musk has said Tesla will reopen its New York factory 'as soon as humanly possible' to help make and distribute ventilators to battle the coronavirus pandemic
The billionaire made the pledge in a Tweet Wednesday after Medtronic Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak told CNBC earlier in the day that the medical device maker had started working with the carmaker, which is fast on track to start production of ventilators at Fremont
The billionaire made the pledge in a Tweet Wednesday after Medtronic Chief Executive Officer Omar Ishrak told CNBC earlier in the day that the medical device maker had started working with the carmaker, which is fast on track to start production of ventilators at Fremont
The controversial entrepreneur, who has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the global health crisis, delivered over 1,000 ventilators to a California hospital to help with the treatment of patients. 
California Governor Gavin Newsom praised Musk's 'heroic effort' during a press conference Monday.
'I told you a few days ago that [Musk] was likely to have 1,000 ventilators this week,' Newsom said. 'They arrived in Los Angeles and Elon Musk is already working with the hospital association and others to get those ventilators out in real time. It's an heroic effort.' 
Tesla had bought the ventilators in China and shipped them to the US, Musk said.
He also supplied 50,000 face masks to the Seattle home of a University of Washington physician Sunday. 
The outspoken Tesla boss seems to have backpedaled on previous statements were he has dismissed coronavirus as 'dumb' and said children are 'essentially immune'. 
Musk's latest pledge came as New York state struggles to bring the spread of the deadly virus under control, with the number of infected individuals topping 20,000 and deaths reaching 385 as of Thursday morning. 
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has repeatedly stressed the need for more equipment - specifically ventilators – to be sent to New York state.
The governor said in a live broadcast Thursday morning that he was taking a number of steps to get more life-saving ventilators to hospitals in the state: more ventilators are being shipped to New York, ventilators are being split up for use on two patients at the same time, and anaesthesia ventilators are being converted into respirators.
‘We are talking to the federal government about more ventilators, we’re shopping for ventilators ourselves, we’re splitting ventilators, and we’re converting anaesthesia ventilators,’ said Cuomo.
‘So we’re all over the ventilator issue.’
Cuomo said that maximum projections of how the virus will spread in New York means the state needs about 40,000 ventilators.
The state has access to around 12,000, Cuomo said, meaning it is 28,000 short of the amount it may need at the peak of the crisis.
‘We have maybe about 12,000 in that range of ventilators before talking about splitting and anaesthesia ventilators,’ he said.
‘The number of ventilators we need is so astronomical – and it’s not like they’re sitting in warehouses… there is not a stockpile large enough to meet the national need,’ said Cuomo.
‘Equipment and PPE is an ongoing issue. Ventilators, ventilators, ventilators – I didn’t know what they were as few weeks ago aside from the cursory knowledge,’ he said, but now he almost ‘knows too much’.
The state is ‘still shopping for more ventilators now across the country’ but ‘we need more’, he said.
The state has approved the technology to split ventilators across two patients at a time, Cuomo said, but admitted that it is ‘not ideal but we believe is workable’.
‘We’re also converting anaesthesia machines into ventilators,’ he said.
Cuomo said the need for ventilators is so critical because coronavirus ‘is a respiratory illness for a large number of people’.
Some patients are staying on ventilators for a long time for around 11-21 days, the governor explained, which means the supply cannot be passed around as quickly.
‘Some people are on ventilators for 20 days, 30 days… the longer you’re on a ventilator the more likely you’re not going to come off,’ he said.
New York now has enough PPE for New York hospitals for the time being, Cuomo said, after he had previously urged any businesses that could to ramp up production on face masks.
Cuomo had previously blasted President Trump Tuesday for only sending 400 ventilators to New York from the 20,000-strong federal stockpile when he has said repeatedly that the state – which is by far the worst-hit by the virus in the US - needs 30,000. 
'You pick the 26,000 who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators,' he said on Tuesday in an angry plea to the government to share more. 
He went on to say that Trump and the government have told him they will not release the ventilators 'because companies are coming forward who want to do it.' 
Trump boasted about the ventilators on Twitter, saying on Tuesday morning: 'Just got 400 ventilators to NYC!' 
Tensions have seemed to lessen between the two but Cuomo continues to urge the president to implement what he called a 'rolling deployment' of resources to the states and cities that need them when they need them, rather than trying to conjure up enough for everyone to battle the virus at the same time. 
Cuomo has thanked several other businesses that have donated services and supplies to the state of New York to help it battle the pandemic including JetBlue, Estee Lauder and SoftBank. 
Cuomo revealed on Twitter that JetBlue was giving free flights to healthcare workers who need to get to New York to help in its overwhelmed hospitals. 
Estee Lauder has donated 10,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and vows to keep giving 10,000 a week to help alleviate the supply shortage in hospitals. 
SoftBank has also donated 1.4million N-95 masks to the state. They are crucial to doctors and nurses to be able to treat patients.