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QUEENS, NY – U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-Queens) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx) announced today that they sent a letter to President Trump calling on him to prioritize the transfer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ventilators from the national stockpile to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York.
"We entreat you to promptly deploy immediate necessary resources to decrease the intensity and mitigate long-term harm of COVID-19," Meng and Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "We urge you to address the needs required at Elmhurst Hospital."
A Queens lawmaker recently introduced a resolution in Congress following the increase in hate crimes and anti-Asian rhetoric surrounding COVID-19.
Congresswoman Grace Meng's resolution recognized that public officials and law enforcement had the responsibility to "condemn and denounce any and all anti-Asian sentiment in any form." According to Meng's office, a recent study revealed that between February 9, 2020, and March, 7 2020, there were more than 400 reported cases of anti-Asian discrimination related to COVID-19 in the United States.
(CNN) Rep. Grace Meng described feeling powerless when she received a call on Friday from a nurse begging for more medical support at Elmhurst hospital in Queens -- one of the hospitals reeling from the virus' rapid spread in the state.
"I got this call at about the same time that we were on or near the floor of the House debating this bill, getting ready to vote on this bill," the New York Democrat told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Friday, referencing the $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package the chamber had passed earlier Friday.
Elmhurst Hospital Has Been Besieged by Coronavirus, and Rep. Grace Meng Is Demanding Help
By Spectrum News NY1 New York City
PUBLISHED 7:30 PM ET Mar. 27, 2020
Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng joined Errol Louis by phone to discuss her calls for help for Elmhurst Hospital, which has seen a surge in coronavirus patients.That includes her letter with Rep. Ocasio-Cortez to President Trump asking him to transfer Personal Protective Equipment and ventilators from the national stockpile directly to the Queens hospital.
WASHINGTON — Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., fears for his safety when leaving his home to get groceries, he told USA TODAY in a recent interview.
Lieu said he had pepper spray and was considering bringing it with him when he left his home.
"Now, I think about if I'm going to go to the grocery store, I wonder if I should carry this on me. And no one should be thinking about that," said Lieu, who represents a Los Angeles-area district.
BY MORGAN MCKAY NEW YORK STATE
PUBLISHED 6:39 AM ET MAR. 24, 2020
New York officials on Monday announced it was launching a hotline number New Yorkers could call to report hate crimes and bias-based incidents.
Even during this pandemic, hate crimes are still a pervasive problem in New York.
Recently, there has been a rise in the number of incidents against Asian-Americans, with people being called racial slurs, attacked for wearing a protective masks and even sprayed with chemicals.
By Jesse McKinley and Shane Goldmacher
ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo awoke before dawn on Tuesday, emerging after a few hours' sleep to board a helicopter to New York City for the coronavirus briefing that has become a daily ritual for him and for the millions of people now watching.
But this event would be different. The outbreak was moving faster than he had expected, with the number of confirmed cases doubling every three days, and he decided he needed to show people — including the White House — how desperate the situation had become.