On March 1, NY-Presbyterian Hospital accepted the first known COVID-19 patient in the New York City area. Its CEO Dr. Steven Corwin, who treated patients during the HIV and AIDs crisis, was watching the coronavirus epidemic in Italy and knew how bad things could get. 

Corwin joins Axios Re:Cap to discuss the decisions he made that week in order to prepare for the surge he saw coming — in staffing, in canceling elective surgeries and in obtaining PPE.

Plus, we revisit why March 11 was the day the pandemic finally felt real to many Americans.