Rep. Mark Green, who is also a physician, said Wednesday he is not concerned about reports that hospitals could have shortages in ICU beds or critical medical supplies in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, as President Donald Trump's actions are working to spread out the peak of the disease and has bought the country some time.
"We're in the middle of influenza season," the Tennessee Republican told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." "There is a surge capacity that has been sort of moved into with influenza and something we have to watch closely. I think the president bought us time and so the way our outbreak curve is going to look it will be less peak and spread out more over time because of his travel restrictions and quarantining people coming over."
The advance of coronavirus can't be stopped, Green acknowledged, but "you can certainly slow it. I think that's what has happened and our capacity will be okay."
Sunday, CNN Chief Medical Consultant Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote, quoting estimates from the Department of Health and Human Services, that during a moderate outbreak, 200,000 people in the United States will need intensive care, but Johns Hopkins reports that the country has fewer than 100,000 ICU beds. Further, in a moderate pandemic, 64,000 people are projected to need a breathing machine or ventilator, but only about 62,000 are on hand and another 8,900 are in the national stockpile, and because it is also flu season, many of the ventilators already are being used.
"I'm certain things are going on behind the scenes that (involve) worst-case scenario planning," said Green. "You look at the ability to use the National Guard. There are medical units in our National Guard. We have the capacity to have deployed ICU beds for the military. All of those are out there. I'm sure they are looking at all those resources."
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