Fifteen white tents have grown on the lawns of Central Park. A field hospital, with 68 beds and ten respirators, was set up in record time in New York to receive patients with Covid-19 and relieve one of the largest hospitals in the American metropolis, Mount Sinai Hospital, located a few hundred meters away, on the other side of Fifth Avenue.

New York State is by far the main focus of the epidemic in the United States, with more than 7,000 dead. On Thursday, April 9, it registered a new record increase of 799 deaths in the past 24 hours. So, to cope with the flow of patients, Samaritan's Purse offered its know-how. This evangelical Christian humanitarian NGO has built, financed and fully manages this field hospital. A first in New York for this organization more used to pitching its tents in countries at war than on the Upper East Side.

"I am more used to working in other countries: I went to Ecuador, Haiti, Mosul in Iraq. I never imagined that we could have to face this in America, in our country and here in New York ", says France 24 Brittany Akinsola, intensive care nurse.

As with all of its humanitarian operations, Samaritan's Purse has only recruited Christian caregivers for its Central Park hospital.

Any help is good to take

The NGO is chaired by Franklin Graham, a fervent supporter of Donald Trump. This evangelical missionary regularly attacks "the hidden intentions of homosexuals" or the "transgender lie", combats abortion or describes Islam as "diabolical". But faced with the urgency of the crisis in New York, the state governor and the mayor approved all the help available.

The city is sorely lacking in equipment and caregivers while Samaritan's Purse has precious equipment and highly qualified health personnel. "First, we have to put on boots, then a mask with a visor to protect our face. Every day, the staff must take their temperature, in the morning and in the evening, to be sure that there are no symptoms "says Brittany Akinsola.

Since opening on April 1, the Evangelicals Field Hospital has cared for dozens of critically ill patients. On April 9, the situation had nonetheless stabilized in New York hospitals: never had so few new patients been hospitalized and admitted to intensive care since the start of the crisis. "Good news," according to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Shortages of hospital beds predicted by various models have been avoided, said Andrew Cuomo, who said the war was not over. "We are not out of the woods," warns the governor.

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