Georgia’s public health commissioner said Tuesday that the state is seeking out respirators, ventilators and other medical equipment to try and contain the coronavirus outbreak that has ground American life to a halt.
Dr. Kathleen Toomey said some of Georgia's hardest-hit communities are experiencing equipment shortages and that Gov. Brian Kemp's coronavirus task force is in the process of identifying supply sources from both the federal government and the private sector.
“Not only are we looking to obtain that kind of medical equipment, also personal protective equipment,” Toomey said when asked about ventilators and respirators during a live interview on Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Political Rewind.”
Toomey’s comments came less than a day after President Donald Trump told a group of governors that states should try obtaining such emergency medical equipment on their own rather than wait for the federal government to meet demand.
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"We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Point of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself," Trump said, according to audio leaked to The New York Times.
Trump’s comments sparked public criticism from some state leaders, including Democratic New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who have been looking to the federal government for resources to aid local responses.
Gov. Brian Kemp, through a spokesman, has defended the president’s statement.
Trump’s comments were “part of a response about encouraging governors to collaborate with private sector partners in getting medical equipment and dispersing testing,” said Kemp spokesman Cody Hall. “The point: states may get both quicker that way.”
While Lujan Grisham and others have warned about states competing with one another for resources like ventilators, Toomey said Tuesday she wasn’t yet seeing a pinch.
The state has also scrambled in recent weeks to secure testing kits. Over the weekend, Kemp said the state is processing 100 specimens per day and that it planned to double capacity by the end of the week with the addition of new equipment and staff.
Toomey said “it would be nice to be able to test everyone with any symptom” but that limited resources mean the state will be focusing on high risk populations, including the elderly and first responders.
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She echoed local hospitals that have urged people with mild symptoms not to go to the emergency room for testing. They should instead work with their doctors, Toomey said.
Toomey was also asked about whether Georgia was planning to follow other states that have banned large gatherings and ordered local restaurants and bars to shutter. Kemp has largely resisted such mandates, but the governor yesterday ordered all public elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools to close through the end of the month.
“We haven’t discussed it today, but everything is being discussed on an hour-to-hour, minute-by-minute basis,” Toomey said.
She added: “Whether that is taken is going to depend on people’s … sense of responsibility to not only protect themselves but to protect the community and so far we have only implemented this over the last several days. If (Kemp) sees that people are not heeding the advice to stay home I suspect further action will be taken.”
