New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday there are now more than 83,700 positive coronavirus cases in his state and 1,941 coronavirus-related deaths.
The positive cases increased by about 10% compared to numbers Mr. Cuomo had presented Tuesday. There were 391 more deaths than the 1,550 he reported Wednesday, about a 25% increase.
There were 12,226 hospitalizations, about a 12% increase from Tuesday, and there have been 6,142 patients discharged, a 23% increase compared to Tuesday.
New York is easily the hardest-hit state amid the outbreak, accounting for close to half of all coronavirus cases and coronavirus-related deaths in the country.
Mr. Cuomo said they are now closing down New York City playgrounds, saying there are still compliance issues with social distancing rules.
He called on the NYPD to get more aggressive in enforcing the rules and said people who continue to flout them are “reckless.”
“Who else has to die for you to understand you have a responsibility in this?” the governor said.
Mr. Cuomo has ordered nonessential workers to stay at home, and for everyone to maintain a 6-foot distance from other people when they are in public.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced that fines for noncompliance with social distancing rules could range from $250 to $500.
There have been more than 220,880 coronavirus tests in New York, out of a population of about 19.5 million people.
In New York City, there are more than 47,400 positive coronavirus cases, more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths, and more than 96,500 tests run. The city has a population of about 8.6 million people.
Mr. Cuomo cited multiple projections for state needs amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Under a scenario with minimal public compliance with “social distancing” guidelines, the state would need roughly 110,000 hospital beds for COVID-19 patients and 37,000 ventilators, he said.
Under a “high compliance” scenario, the state would need 75,000 beds for COVID-19 patients and 25,000 ventilators.
“High compliance on social distancing will reduce the number,” he said.
Both models had put the apex of the problem at the end of April.
Members of the White House coronavirus task force on Tuesday had said there could be 100,000 to 240,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the U.S. even if people practice proper social distancing.
Mr. Cuomo also went through another model run by a group funded by the Gates Foundation that projects 93,000 Americans, and 16,000 New Yorkers, would die by the time the virus runs its course.
“If this model if correct, this could go through the summer,” he said, citing projections of a high death rate through July.
He said he didn’t quite understand the ratio since New York comprises a significantly greater share of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. right now.
Other states have also approved their own lockdown rules, but Mr. Cuomo said he’s not sure that the U.S. would stomach nationwide restrictions along the lines of the ones imposed in Wuhan, China, where the virus originated.
“Wuhan basically just locked up society,” he said. “I don’t even know that if the federal government enacted the Wuhan model that the American people would comply. We have a totally different social structure, governmental structure.”
Mr. Cuomo acknowledged that he was frightened when he heard his younger brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, tested positive this week.
He predicted that his brother would be OK but said it’s proof that anyone is vulnerable.
“It is frightening on a fundamental level, and it’s frightening because there’s nothing I can do and I’m out of control,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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