New York City is building two massive field hospitals

TORONTO -- Work is underway to convert the Javits Center in New York City into two temporary field hospitals.

Army combat units will help staff build the makeshift hospital, which will eventually house more than 1,000 non-COVID-19 patients.

The massive exhibition centre is being transformed to help ease pressure on local hospitals and free up critically-needed hospital beds.

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New York State has become the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., accounting for nearly 45 per cent of the country’s cases.

On Thursday, New York City’s mayor’s office recorded more than 23,112 cases and 365 deaths. Mayor Bill de Blasio warned on Thursday that the city’s hospitals could soon run out of critical supplies.

-With files from The Associated Press

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  Army personnel work to transform the Javits Center into two field hospitals in New York City. (Photo: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE )