New York will need to double its hospital bed capacity and potentially expand its intensive care unit needs to 10 times its current scale.

The construction industry expects to play an essential role in ramping up that capacity in the coming weeks, said Mike Elmendorf, the president and CEO of the Associated General Contractors.

The industry was among those given essential status by Governor Andrew Cuomo in his executive order requiring businesses and non-profit organizations to have 75 percent of its workforce stay home or work remotely.

"Obviously one of the things everyone is taking about the need for more hospital capacity and we're already see contractors called upon to answer that call," Elmendorf said.

Cuomo has also been discussing hospital expansion with the Army Corps of Engineers. A hospital ship will dock in the New York City harbor in mid-April to help with patient overflow.

The governor has said the state alone cannot manage the expected influx of patients due to the spread of coronavirus and will need federal assistance.

State and federal officials have asked hospitals to postpone elective surgeries in an effort to free up beds.

As of Thursday, 777 people were hospitalized due to the virus, a rate of 19 percent of the overall confirmed cases.