Three weeks ago Dr Aaron Glatt’s hospital in New York did not have a single case of COVID-19. Now, there are two hundred.
Dr Glatt's career as an infectious disease specialist has been dotted with battling horrific outbreaks.
He told SBS Dateline via video call: “In my professional life [the coronavirus] is the most serious health care crisis we have ever faced. This includes HIV, H1N1, SARS and Ebola.”
New York state has become the new coronavirus epicentre, with hospitals grappling to fortify resources to deal with the onslaught of critical care patients.
From converting entire hospitals into intensive care facilities, to repurposing equipment, Dr Glatt says hospitals are galvanising their efforts to cope with a scenario the world has never seen.
“There are hospitals that are investigating, including my own, if you can use a ventilator on more than one person, which certainly isn’t ideal. We are running out equipment,” he said.
“We are facing a medical catastrophe, I can’t put it in any clearer words.”
Dr Glatt works at the busy Mount Sinai South Nassau - a 455-bed facility. Despite the government's commitment to assist, the hospital has asked for resources it has not yet received.
“We need more equipment, personal protective equipment and ventilators, for starters.”
Two large medical tents have been erected outside Dr Glatt’s hospital, which were built to help the facility's emergency department.
A silver lining, Dr Glatt explains, has been scientific ingenuity: “There have been unbelievably good innovations come out of this.”
“We have extremely rapid and good testing now. There are companies coming out with 15 minute tests.
“We are looking at our hospital coming up with experimental therapies. Mount Sinai South Nassau systems are pioneering a plasma therapy. There are FDA approved drugs that are now being tried as treatment with some modicum of success.”
Despite the impressive capacity for medical communities' ability to adapt, the reality of the situation bearing down on New York, and the world, is devastating.
The state’s COVID-19 cases rose to more than 92,000 on Thursday, with 2,468 lives lost, the New York governor issued a simple but foreboding warning in a press conference Thursday: “Nobody knows what’s going to happen.”
One model cited by Mr Cuomo projected 16,000 deaths in New York once the outbreak had run its course in the coming months.
"We're at a place we've never been before," he said.
Dr Glatt’s experience on the frontline of New York’s coronavirus crisis comes with a stark warning: if you think you’re safe, think again.
“If people don’t say today…. ‘I will practice social distancing’, it will destroy your neighbourhood too.”
By Friday morning the US had about 238,820 confirmed coronavirus cases and the death toll was 5,758.
Worldwide, about 1,007,977 people have been infected and more than 52,771 have died, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Dateline is an award-winning Australian, international documentary series airing for over 40 years. Each week Dateline scours the globe to bring you a world of daring stories. Read more about Dateline
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