Dr. Oz calls NYC coronavirus disaster 'a cautionary tale': 'We did our best. We were too late'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox. Sign up here.
Dr. Mehmet Oz warned states and cities across the country to prepare for a surge in coronavirus cases and avoid repeating the mistakes of New York City, which has emerged as an epicenter of the pandemic.
"There is a battlefield," Oz told "Hannity" on Monday night. "Those are field hospitals [in Central Park] that you're talking about. Brilliant, rapidly built and deployed facilities are a huge help -- but they are field hospitals."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
"You can try to look away but we should be embracing the reality of what happened in New York."
"This is the kind of extreme position we are in," the "Dr. Oz Show" host continued. "It's a cautionary tale for America. You can try to look away but we should be embracing the reality of what happened in New York. We are smart people, we did our best, we were too late. As much as we tried to do it the right way, we missed the clues, so don't go for the bait."
Talking directly to leaders in New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles, Oz said they "should take advantage" of New York's early failures in response to the outbreak, "because that Comfort ship ... that’s not coming to you," a reference to the Navy hospital ship that docked in New York Harbor on Monday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We've got to learn from the tightrope that we are walking right now," Oz said. "We've extended our capacity. If you guys can intervene early in your cities, you will save yourself the pain."
Oz also responded to the Food and Drug Administration's emergency authorization to treat coronavirus patients with anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, both of which have been touted by President Trump as potential treatments.
"I think the FDA did the right thing when they decided to allow physicians in this country to use this medication while we are trying to figure out what these clinical trials will show us," Oz said. "It will take some time ... why put patients through turmoil that seems to be safe if prescribed by a doctor and used appropriately?"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DR. MARC SIEGEL DESCRIBES HIV DRUG AS 'VERY EXCITING' POTENTIAL NEW CORONAVIRUS TREATMENT
Oz admitted that he would personally use the drugs, which haven't yet been tested in a controlled clinical trial.
"I would use the medication. Most of the physicians I've spoken to would say the same," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's not a panacea, it's not going to work for everybody and we don't know if it's that much more effective than standard care... but the people that used it sometimes say it changed things pretty dramatically."