New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is scouring the globe for medical supplies and scouting temporary hospital locations in and around New York City. Flights were briefly suspended to New York City-area airports because of staffing issues after an air-traffic control worker tested positive for coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases statewide soared above 11,000. More on the latest coronavirus developments Saturday in New York: ___ HOSPITAL BEDS & SUPPLIES New York was scouring the globe for desperately needed medical supplies and scouting temporary hospital locations in New York City and its suburbs as confirmed coronavirus cases soared above 11,000 statewide, Cuomo said Saturday. The goal is to quickly boost the state’s hospital capacity from around 50,000 beds to 75,000 beds, Cuomo said at a news briefing. The state has already hospitalized 1,600 people. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared a major disaster in the state, freeing up access to billions of dollars in relief funding. The governor said the state is looking to see if Manhattan’s spacious Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, normally home to the auto show and other big events, could be suitable for 1,000 requested field hospital beds that would be supplied by FEMA in a “tent configuration” with equipment and staff. On a parallel track, the state is scouting four locations for temporary hospitals that would be built by the Army Corps of Engineers. The possible sites include the Javits Center in the city, Stony Brook University and SUNY College at Old Westbury on Long Island, and the Westchester County Center north of the city. Sites will be reviewed Saturday, he said. “Everything that can be done is being done,” Cuomo said. New York state had more than 11,000 confirmed cases and 56 deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University. Officials have identified 2 million face masks that can be sent to hot spots, Cuomo said, and apparel companies are pivoting to make masks. One million masks are being sent Saturday to New York City hospitals, and 500,000 to Long Island. And with hospital gowns in short supply, the state is trying to obtain gown material for apparel makers, he said. Because of dwindling supplies, hospitals have been rationing supplies and asking staff to reuse masks until they become soiled. The state is also rounding up critically needed ventilators, purchasing 6,000 to deploy to the most critical areas and investigating whether multiple patients can be served by a single ventilator, Cuomo said. “We are literally scouring the globe looking for medical supplies,” he said. ____ CLINICAL TRIALS The state also will immediately conduct trials of an experimental COVID-19 treatment with hydroxychloroquine and Zithromax, Cuomo said. Hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug, has been touted by President Donald Trump as a possible answer-in-waiting to the outbreak, though many experts caution more testing needs to be done. Cuomo said the Food and Drug Administration is sending 10,000 doses to the state. Northwell Health, which operates hospitals in the New York City region, announced Friday that it was conducting clinical trials with remdesivir, an antiviral drug, and sarilumab, a human antibody that could prevent severe pneumonia complications. Northwell said it is offering the trials to patients already hospitalized in its facilities with moderate and severe COVID-19 conditions, with a goal of improving recovery and speeding discharge. […]