US: Trump admits helping states fight virus 'not easy'

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration continues to help states amid the coronavirus outbreak, admitting "it is not easy."

"The World market for face masks and ventilators is Crazy. We are helping the states to get equipment, but it is not easy," Trump complained in a tweet.

"Just got 400 Ventilators for @NYCMayor Bill de Blasio," he said. "Work beginning on 4 hospitals in New York! Millions of different type items coming!"

New York City is the U.S. locale feeling the worst from the global pandemic, with a death tally of 125.

Late Monday, de Blasio said that he spoke with Trump and Vice President Mike Pompeo "about the reality of U.S. public hospitals."

"I made clear the seriousness of what we’re facing in New York City, and the vital need for immediate help," he said on Twitter.

Calling the 400 ventilators from the federal stockpile "some signs of help," de Blasio stressed: "Our need is in the thousands, but it's a race against time and this will buy us critical days."

"We NEED the military's help in New York City. We can't say this enough. The USNS [navy ship] Comfort will be on its way – but we will need SO much more going forward in terms of logistics, manpower and supplies," he said.

Last week, Trump and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed that the USNS Comfort will be deployed to New York City harbor to help efforts to combat the outbreak.

The coronavirus death toll in the U.S. neared 600 as of Tuesday, while the number of cases reached 46,450, according to figures compiled by John Hopkins University in Maryland.

The sobering new figures put the U.S. in the top three countries worldwide with the most cases, after Italy and China.