Cuomo’s latest state briefing trails a devastating week for New York amid its coronavirus outbreak. During Sunday’s televised update, the governor said 758 new deaths had been reported statewide over the previous 24 hours. The elevated single-day total followed nearly a week of similar numbers, which Cuomo suggested could mean New York was continuing to stabilize its outbreak trajectory.
“You’re not seeing a great decline in the numbers,” he acknowledged, but he noted that data trends pointed to an ongoing “flattening” with regard to the state’s overall coronavirus curve. Still, as of Sunday, New York’s death toll was leveling at high rates, with between 731 and 799 fatalities confirmed daily since the previous Monday.
And while Cuomo again discussed the weight of those numbers, he also encouraged residents to focus on bits of “good news,” which included fewer new hospitalizations (though the statewide total still amounted to roughly 18,700 current admissions as of Sunday morning) and, therefore, reduced pressure on New York’s hospital systems. The development allowed Cuomo to return 35 ventilators lent to downstate hospitals by Pathways Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in the upstate town of Niskayuna.
“That a nursing home would come forward, unsolicited, gratuitously, and say we want to lend 35 ventilators in case our neighbors downstate need them. What an incredibly beautiful, generous gesture,” the governor said Sunday. “I want to say thank you on behalf of all of the people of the state.”
Though New York’s coronavirus curve is less steep than it once was, the state has reported additional diagnoses, deaths and hospitalizations in quantities higher than any other region nationwide. According to Johns Hopkins University’s latest figures, at least 190,288 people have tested positive for the virus since it was first identified among New York state residents. Of those them, close to 9,400 have died.
Cuomo implemented statewide school and nonessential business closures weeks ago in an effort to contain further transmission. However, in light of new cases detected, the governor introduced an executive order on Sunday mandating all employers to provide essential workers with surgical face masks to wear when they are interacting with members of the public. “They should provide those masks cost-free,” he said.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect a new start time for the news briefing.
