Coronavirus Curve In New York Appears To Be On The Descent, Cuomo Says
MANHASSET, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said all indications are New York has passed the high point of coronavirus cases and are on the descent.
There are roughly 16,000 New Yorkers hospitalized with the virus, Cuomo said, down from a high point of around 18,000.
"If the data holds, and this trend holds, we are past the high point and all indications, at this point, that we are on the descent. Whether or not that descent continues depends on what we do," Cuomo said.
Cuomo said the three day average of hospitalization rate is down, along with the number of intubations.
"With all of the good news in the reductions, we still have 1,300 people that yesterday came in and tested positive and were hospitalized," Cuomo said. "Thirteen hundred is a lot of people coming into the hospital system with that diagnosis. Less than it has been, so that's good news, but it is still 1,300 people who are testing positive and need hospitalization"
Nursing homes remain the top concern, Cuomo said, calling it the "optimum feeding ground" for the virus.
Another 507 New Yorkers died in the past 24 hours related to the coronavirus.
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Cuomo said the decrease in deaths and hospitalizations is good news, but has to be viewed in context.
"That's good news only compared to the terrible news we were living with, which was that constant increase," Cuomo said. "So, it's no time to get cocky and it's no time to get arrogant. We still have a long way to go and lot of work to do."
Cuomo said it was only "halftime" in the fight against the virus.
"We still have to make sure that we keep that beast under control," he said. "It's not over. We have a whole second phase."
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Cuomo said the next phase will require widespread testing, which in New York will begin with antibody testing.
"We're going to sample people in this state, thousands of people in this state, across the state, to find out if they have the antibodies. That will tell us, for the first time, what percent of the population actually has had the coronavirus and is now, at least in the short term, immune to the virus. This will be the first true snapshot of what we're really dealing with," Cuomo said.
The statewide sampling will take place next week.
Cuomo again called on Washington to pass another stimulus bill that would include financial relief for state and local governments.
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Cuomo said when the state reopens, it needs to build back better and smarter, the way it did after Superstorm Sandy and 9/11.