New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned of a looming “nightmare of overwhelmed hospitals.”

New York, December 1 (RHC)-- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned of a looming “nightmare of overwhelmed hospitals,” saying he’s prepared to once again close nonessential businesses if cases keep rising.  Cuomo also ordered hospitals to call up retired medical workers.

Speaking to reporters, Cuomo said: “Every hospital has to identify retired nurses and doctors now.  We’re already experiencing staff shortages.  Staff just gets exhausted after a while.  They’ve had a horrendous year.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is convening a panel of advisers to determine who will be the first in line to be vaccinated against COVID-19 — as the U.S. coronavirus outbreak continues to shatter world records.  

On Monday, U.S. hospitalizations topped 96,000 — a record high.  There were 168,000 new confirmed cases and nearly 1,300 new deaths Monday.  There were over 4 million confirmed U.S. infections in November alone.

In California, a new remain-at-home order went into effect across Los Angeles County on Monday, as Governor Gavin Newsom warned similar orders could soon follow for nearly all of California’s 58 counties.  The California governor said: “If these trends continue, we’re going to have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic, action.”