New York City Auctioned Off Extra Ventilators Due To Cost Of Maintenance: Report
But sure, let’s blame Trump.
Via The Hill:
New York City auctioned off hundreds of city-owned ventilators at least five years ago under Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, according to an investigation by ProPublica.
The city acquired the ventilators in 2006 under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration, when a new strain of the flu was circulating in Asia, according to a report from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene obtained by the news outlet.
The city began to acquire ventilators and “stockpile a supply of facemasks,” which were later auctioned off because the machines broke down and the health department “couldn’t afford to maintain them,” according to ProPublica.
Years later, the city has become the epicenter of the novel coronavirus in the U.S., with 72,324 confirmed cases and at least 5,489 deaths throughout the five boroughs, the mayor reported Tuesday.
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