NY reports 7K more cases of Covid-19, and 1,218 deaths total from the virus
Photo by Darren McGee, Office of the Governor: Andrew Cuomo with Rear Admiral John Mustin welcome the United States Naval Hospital Ship Comfort to New York City.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo today confirmed 6,984 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 66,497 confirmed cases.
The new cases include one in Orleans for five total in the county, and three new cases in Genesee for 12 total.
Other nearby counties include Niagara, three new cases for 41 total; Monroe, 23 new cases for 242 total; Erie added 18 and has 376 total.
The death toll in the state from Covid-19 passed 1,000, from 965 on Sunday to 1,218 today.
“That is a lot of pain,” Cuomo said at a press briefing. “That is a lot of tears. That is a lot of grief that people all across the state are feeling.”
The governor today announced a statewide public-private hospital plan to fight Covid-19. As part of the plan, hospitals that are beginning to reach or exceed capacity can transfer patients to other hospitals that are not as full.
The hospital systems across the state have also agreed to share supplies, staff and other resources as needed, Cuomo said.
The governor also announced that the first 1,000-bed temporary hospital at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is open and accepting patients today. The temporary hospital site was constructed in one week.
“As the numbers continue to increase, the situation is becoming painfully clear that the front line battle of this virus will be fought in our healthcare system,” Cuomo said. “We need more healthcare professionals, we need more supplies, we need more capacity and we need it now. The entire country has been playing catch up with this virus since day one, but in New York we have been trying to plan forward and get ahead of the problem. We are continuing to stockpile supplies in preparation for the apex of the curve, and we have reached an agreement with the statewide healthcare system to coordinate and work together as one entity to balance the load of patients and share staff and resources.”
The governor urged people to take the virus seriously, especially younger people who are often seen congregating at parks and other public places. Cuomo also said people across the state and country should fear the virus and not assume they aren’t invincible or that the virus won’t affect their community.
“You see it is continuing to move across the State of New York,” Cuomo said. “There is only one county now that does not have a COVID case. Anyone who says the situation is a New York City only situation is in a state of denial. You see this virus move across the state. You see virus move across this nation. There is no American who is immune to this virus. I don’t care if you live in Kansas. I don’t care if you live in Texas. There is no American that is immune. What is happening to New York is not an anomaly. There is nothing about a New Yorker’s immune system that is any different than any other American’s immune system. So, in many ways New York is just a canary in the coal mine. What you see us going through here, you will see happening all across this country.”
