I don't understand why you think the states shouldn't be able to handle this. It's their responsibility.
How is the federal government supposed to magically increase hospital capacity? Nobody ever wanted to pay for a bunch more idle and unused hospital capacity. It's a pandemic with lots of victims, you do the best you can, and that's how it goes.
And if NY is a basket case (I'm not arguing) the federal government may be even more so. They don't exactly have a good record of responding to emergencies, either.
How is the federal government supposed to magically increase hospital capacity? Nobody ever wanted to pay for a bunch more idle and unused hospital capacity. It's a pandemic with lots of victims, you do the best you can, and that's how it goes.
And if NY is a basket case (I'm not arguing) the federal government may be even more so. They don't exactly have a good record of responding to emergencies, either.