As NY tops 10,000 deaths from Covid-19, governor says, ‘The worst is over if we continue to be smart’
Cuomo to look at reopening economy incrementally
New York State has topped 10,000 deaths from Covid-19, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today. The state reported 671 deaths on Sunday, which brings the total to 10,056. The state also reported 6,337 new confirmed cases of coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total to 195,031.
The 671 deaths was the first time in seven days the daily deaths were under 700. That has Cuomo optimistic the state has hit its peak with daily deaths, hospitalizations and intubations.
“The worst is over if we continue to be smart going forward,” Cuomo said.
He will be consulting with public health and economic leaders on a plan to begin reopening the economy. The governor said it won’t be a dramatic reopening, but will be done incrementally with the state monitoring the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19. If those numbers go up, that’s a sign that the state is reopening too soon.
The governor also said a reopening of schools and nonessential businesses could differ around the states with some areas with low infections able to reopen at a faster pace.
“It’s a delicate balance reopening the economy,” Cuomo said during a news conference today.
Some countries that reopened too quickly are seeing a new spike in infections. Cuomo said New York, in its plan, will likely ease isolations, gradually increase economic activity and “recalibrate essential workers.”
“We never turned the economy off,” he said. “We turned it way, way down. We’ll start to open that valve on the economic activity, and we’ll turn that valve very slowly.”
The governor ultimately said New Yorkers can only feel like life is back to normal when there are proven treatments for people sickened by the virus and a vaccine is developed and deployable en masse.
“It’s not going to be we flick a switch,” Cuomo said about a return to life as normal. “It’s not going to happen that way. It can’t happen that way.”
In meantime, he urged people to continue practicing social distancing, washing their hands frequently and staying at home as much as possible.
“Do not reverse the progress we have made in our zeal to get back to normal,” Cuomo said.
