NY Coronavirus: 777 More Die, State To Add $200M In Food Help

NEW YORK, NY —The death toll climbed to 7,844 in New York after 777 more people died from the new coronavirus Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday. Meanwhile, the governor said the state will add $200 million in food assistance to more than 700,000 low-income households enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Furthermore, Cuomo said he will work with the federal government on creating a so-called "COVID-19 Heroes Compensation Fund."

In his daily briefing, Cuomo said the hospitalization and intensive care treatment rates continued to flatten, evidence that showed severe social distancing policies seem to be reducing the spread of the virus. The three-day hospitalization average has fallen and intubations, while ticking up slightly overnight, are down overall from earlier in the month.

After another day of over 700 deaths, Cuomo said the number reflects the number of people who are dying after being on ventilators for weeks. The longer a person uses a ventilator, the less likely they are to survive.

The state is watching the numbers in the suburbs of New York City, including Long Island and the Hudson Valley. Officials are paying close attention to a couple "hot spots" in Suffolk County.

Cuomo said the need to continue social distancing remains, even as the number of hospitalizations appear to have flattened around 18,500 — far short of projections from Columbia University, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and McKinsey & Company, which warned that number could reach 136,000, 73,000 and 110,000, respectively.

"We hope that we've seen the worst," he said. "We don't know because the infection rate is purely under our control."

Cuomo explained the discrepancy by noting the situation is unprecedented, but also pointed to people abiding by social distancing policies.

"Nobody has been here before," he said.

Cuomo added: "There is no model to track against."

The state illuminated major landmarks in blue overnight in a show of support for health care workers, whom he said have saved tens of thousands of lives. But Cuomo said the symbolic gesture isn't enough, and called for a federal fund to help people on the front lines, similar to the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.

Cuomo again addressed the question of when — and how — to restart the economy. He said testing will dictate that answer, and urged the Trump administration to use the Defense Production Act to produce millions of tests.

"The key to reopening is testing," Cuomo said. "I’ve said that from day one."

Private companies, he said, don't have the means to bring mass diagnostic and antibody testing to scale — only the federal government could do that effectively using the DPA. Not only do the tests require certain, sought-after reagents, they need to be delivered and administered properly.

And if such testing could begin, Cuomo warned it's not a light switch — workers won't be allowed to simply flood back into the office. It'll be more of a gradual, phased-in process based on testing, and will be done in conjunction with Connecticut and New Jersey.

Cuomo said the state is developing a rapid, noninvasive antibody test, but can only do 300 today. It plans to ramp that number up to 1,000 by next Friday and 2,000 the following week, though he acknowledged those numbers are well short of what is needed.

"You’re going to need government intervention to make that happen," Cuomo said. He also offered to partner with the federal government to make it happen.

Cuomo reiterated he is concerned about a possible second and even third wave if reopening the economy too quickly, pointing to data seen in Singapore, Hong Kong and Italy.

"We are in total control of our destiny here," He said. "Keep doing what we’re doing. Stay home. That works."