New York Has 15 Times More Cases Than Any Other State, Cuomo Says

NEW YORK, NY — As the number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in New York climbed to 15,000 — more than any other state — Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced new measures Sunday to ameliorate the spread. New York now has 15 times more confirmed cases than any other state, mainly due to increased testing, Cuomo said.

"The numbers are still going up, but we are trying to turn the trajectory and keep the rate of increase to a level we can manage it in our hospital" system, Cuomo said on Sunday.

The new state measures Cuomo announced include:

• Plans for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to build four temporary hospitals in Stony Brook, Westchester, Westbury and the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan. The locations were chosen for various reasons including dormitory space for medical personnel.
• Plans for federal emergency management officials to build four hospitals with 250 beds each.
• Plans for New York City to reduce social interaction and density in parks and public spaces within 24 hours for the state to review.
• Plans for hospitals to increase capacity by at least 50 percent, with a goal of doubling their capacity.
• All elective non-critical surgery will be canceled as of Wednesday
• Plans for New York to implement trials of two drugs to treat the disease, officially known as COVID-19. The drugs are the anti-malaria drug chloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin on Tuesday.

New York currently has 53,000 hospital beds available and health experts estimate as many as 110,000 beds could be needed during the coronavirus peak.

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Besides the multifold state response, Cuomo called on the federal government to nationalize the production of medical supplies needed for the pandemic.

"The states just can't deal with finding the medical supplies they need," he said. Hospitals need these materials now, Cuomo urged.

Cuomo also asked the FDA to approve serological testing for antibodies to assess what percent of the population may have already been exposed to COVID-19.

Here is how the cases break down in New York:

• 53 percent of cases were 18 to 49 years old
• 50,000 new tests administered
• 4,800 new cases confirmed
• 114 deaths
• 70 percent of deaths so far were 70 years or older and the majority had underlying health conditions
• 80 percent of deaths under 70 years old had an underlying condition
• 1,900 patients have been hospitalized. The 13 percent hospitalization rate is lower than the previous rate of 15 percent.

These new mandates come after previous measures such as all non-essential employees being asked to stay at home and new rules concerning social distancing and "Matilda's Law" for senior citizens and other vulnerable people.

Cuomo repeated pleas for residents to socially distance.

"You would think nothing was going on. There is a density level that is not appropriate and it has to stop now."

Cuomo reassured residents that food and medication supply chains are not at risk of collapse.

"All essential services will be maintained."

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