New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday reported the health care situation has “stabilized” and hospitalizations and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions are continuing to flatten in the country’s hardest-hit state during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Basically, the health care situation has stabilized. The fears of overwhelming the health care system has not happened,” Mr. Cuomo said at his daily briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak in his state. “We can control the spread — that is great news.”
He did report 752 new coronavirus-related deaths in the state, pushing the total above 11,500 in a state with a population of close to 20 million people.
“The terrible news has basically been flat” the past several days, he said. “It’s almost disrespectful to put it into scientific terms.”
There are more than 213,000 coronavirus cases in New York and more than 526,000 people have been tested.
Mr. Cuomo said despite the trends, there are still thousands of new coronavirus cases in the state every day.
He also said the state would be adjusting its calculations in line with federal guidelines to start counting the number of “probable” deaths tied to the coronavirus - an addition New York City has made already.
Mr. Cuomo said any “reopening” or ramping back up of businesses in the state will require a significant increase in COVID-19 testing capabilities.
“The more testing, the more open the economy but there’s not enough national capacity to do this,” he said. “We cannot do - the states that have a large problem cannot do - the testing and tracing without federal assistance.”
He did offer a preview of the steps the state could take in what he described as a phased reopening of the economy, in concert with additional testing and contact tracing.
He said the state has to weigh how “essential” a business, service, or product is and the risk of infection spread within businesses.
“The more essential a business, service, or product, the more urgent the need to immediately get them back online,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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