Corona Hospital on the US Open site is scheduled to admit first patients on Friday
Unusual picture in Flushing Meadows: Where the tennis stars usually fight for points at the US Open , there are now hospital beds and ventilators.
by SID / Red.
last edit: Apr 09, 2020, 01:32 pm
Since New York is particularly badly affected by the corona virus, a temporary hospital on the tennis court in the borough of Queens is to take in the first patients on Friday. This was said by Daniel Zausner, director of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
"It is about ensuring that we can serve people in need exactly when they need it," said New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday. According to figures from Johns Hopkins University on Thursday, over 4,500 people in New York City alone have already died from the lung disease COVID-19.
On the premises in Flushing Meadows, a training hall with twelve seats was converted into the provisional Corona Clinic. According to de Blasio, the initially planned capacity of 350 beds is to be increased to 470, of which 20 beds will be available for intensive care.
The Louis Armstrong Stadium, the facility's second largest stadium, is also changing its face during the crisis. 25,000 food packages are to be put together here every day, which are distributed to patients, health workers and schoolchildren.
The US Open itself is scheduled to run from August 31 to September 13, 2020.