Politics & Government

Coronavirus Could Claim 16K New York Lives, Cuomo Says

Projections show the pandemic won't reach its peak until late April and could last until July, Gov. Cuomo said.

Projections show the pandemic won't reach it peak until late April and could last until July, Gov. Cuomo said.
Projections show the pandemic won't reach it peak until late April and could last until July, Gov. Cuomo said. (Darren McGee | Office of the Governor of New York)

NEW YORK CITY — As many as 16,000 New Yorkers could die before the novel coronavirus pandemic ends, according to projections shared by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wednesday.

Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projections show that the COVID-19 pandemic won't end until July and that 93,000 Americans will lose their lives, Cuomo said.

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The New York governor estimates the state will need 110,000 beds for COVID-19 patients and 37,000 ventilators by the end of April, when COVID-19 outbreak is expected to peak.

"We don't even have a chance of meeting that capacity," Cuomo said. "It's just unachievable."

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Read more: 'We Are Broke:' NY Pays $25K Per Ventilator, Cuomo Says

New York State had 96,528 confirmed COVID-19 cases — 47,439 cases in New York City — as of Wednesday morning, Cuomo said.

Figures released by the city Tuesday evening showed 1,096 people had died from the virus.

The grim milestone came exactly a month after the coronavirus arrived in the city. The first case, a healthcare worker who'd recently returned to the city from Iran, was confirmed on March 1.

New York State deaths reached 1,941 cases as of Wednesday and only one New York county didn't have a confirmed COVID-19 case.

Coronavirus In NYC: What's Happened And What You Need To Know

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