New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday said the state’s “apex” in the coronavirus outbreak is likely about a week away.
“Our reading of the projections is we’re somewhere in the seven-day range - four, five, six, seven, eight-day range,” Mr. Cuomo said at his daily briefing on the COVID-19 outbreak in his state.
Mr. Cuomo said there were 113,704 coronavirus cases in New York state —about a 10.5% increase from a day earlier — and 3,565 deaths.
The number of deaths increased by 630, or 21%, compared to the number Mr. Cuomo reported on Friday.
That marked an “all-time increase” amid the outbreak, said Mr. Cuomo, who oversees a state with a population of close to 20 million people.
Mr. Cuomo also said roughly two-thirds of people who have been hospitalized have been discharged.
He reported 15,905 hospitalizations, a 7% increase from a day earlier, and said 10,478 people have been discharged, about an 18% increase from a day earlier.
“That’s what we’ve been saying all along — most people won’t be hospitalized. People who are hospitalized will come in, be treated, and leave,” he said.
He said there have been 283,621 tests done in the state, about a 9% increase from a day earlier.
Mr. Cuomo said the share of hospitalizations in New York City, an epicenter of the crisis, has ticked down from about 75% of the state total to 65% in recent weeks while Long Island appears to be a new problem area.
“Long Island is the area that is growing,” he said.
The governor, who has said the state could need 30,000 to 40,000 ventilators to treat COVID-19 patients, said China is donating 1,000 ventilators and the state of Oregon is lending them 140 ventilators.
He said the state has ordered about 17,000 ventilators and that they’re also leveraging contingency options that include using anesthesia and BiPAP machines and “splitting” ventilators to be used by multiple patients.
“We’re all in the same battle here,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Stop the fire in New York — [be] kind, generous, also smart.”
Mr. Cuomo said the state now has a capacity of roughly 75,000 hospital beds, up from an earlier estimate of 53,000 beds. He has said that the need at the apex could be roughly 110,000 beds for COVID-19 patients.
He said the 2,500-bed facility at the Javits Convention Center, which will now be open for coronavirus patients, is a big help.
Mr. Cuomo has also directed hospitals to boost their capacity by 50% and the state has also looked to other places like colleges for makeshift hospital sites.
The governor said he’s signing an executive order to allow medical students slated to graduate to begin practicing to add more doctors and nurses to the ranks.
New York has been the hardest-hit U.S. state amid the COVID-19 outbreak. There are more than 290,000 cases in the United States and more than 7,800 deaths in the U.S., according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.