BATON ROUGE, La. — U.S. governors told the president Thursday that their states are in dire need of federal help as they expand measures to contain the new coronavirus, with Louisiana’s governor saying his state’s health system could be overwhelmed in a week.
Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said a surge in new cases filling hospital beds could push past the state’s capacity to deliver health care in seven to 10 days as New Orleans becomes one of the nation’s virus hot spots.
In a conference call with other governors, Edwards warned President Donald Trump of the “worst-case scenario” modeling. But he also told reporters that Louisiana was on track for that “sobering” reality if the state’s residents don’t actively work to decrease contact with others — staying home more and distancing themselves from people.
Louisiana had nearly 400 positive tests for COVID-19 Thursday, up from 280 a day earlier, Edwards said. Ten people have died.
“Our trajectory is basically the same as what they had in Italy. And if there’s anything I said today that ought to get people’s attention, it is that,” the Democratic governor said. “If we are not going to look like Italy in 10 days or two weeks, it will only be because of these mitigation measures.”
In their teleconference with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, governors pressed for more supplies — masks and other protective equipment for medical professionals, test kits and life-saving supplies such as ventilators.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she wanted better coordination between the federal government and the states regarding the supply chain for essential medical equipment.
“Where is it, who is making it and where is it getting deployed?” said Grisham’s spokesman, Tripp Stelnicki. “There really needs to be more clear communication.”
They also asked for additional oversight of their National Guard units, mostly to have more leeway to deploy them for humanitarian purposes. They want Guard units to help run mobile screening facilities, disinfect public spaces and distribute medical supplies such as gloves, gowns and face shields.
“We need all levels of government working together to get through this crisis,” said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, chairman of the National Governors Association.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday asked congressional leaders for $1 billion in initial federal funding to help the nation’s most populous state fight the virus. He also asked Trump to have the federal government deploy the USNS Mercy Hospital Ship to the port of Los Angeles to help the state “decompress” its health care system.
Developments in the states came fast Thursday, as more governors made sweeping recommendations for residents to avoid public spaces or greatly limit their exposure to others.
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf tightened his directives to businesses to shut down, issuing a dire warning and saying that all “non-life-sustaining” businesses in the state must close their physical locations by 8 p.m. to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Enforcement actions against businesses that do not close their physical locations will begin Saturday, Wolf said in a statement.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued an executive order calling on all nonessential state employees to stay home.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ordered health care providers to postpone elective surgeries and other medical procedures so they can focus on responding to the anticipated surge of coronavirus cases.
“The greatest risk we face during the COVID-19 pandemic is overwhelming our health care systems and limiting their ability to respond to emerging cases,” Walz said in a statement.
Hogan said governors also are requesting a delay or greater flexibility for completing the 2020 census and the transition to Real ID.
Maryland has waived state requirements so driver’s licenses won’t expire during the state of emergency to prevent crowds at Motor Vehicle Administration offices, he said. However, federal law requires Real ID compliance by Oct. 1. Hogan said governors don’t want people coming to MVAs with the documents they need to present in person to be in compliance.
“Other governors all agreed and said, ‘Yes, that’s a big problem for all of us.’ So, we’re just asking to push the pause button on all these things that require interaction with people where they would spread the disease,” Hogan said.
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