The number of people in New York who have died from the new coronavirus hit 1,218 as of Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said — an increase of 253 compared to the number Mr. Cuomo announced a day earlier.
The governor said there could be additional state action to address density problems in New York City and said that while the rate of increased hospitalizations is slowing, the “curve” is still going up.
“This virus has been ahead of us from day one,” Mr. Cuomo said at his daily briefing on the COVID-19 crisis in his state. “We have been playing catch-up from day one. You never win playing catch-up. Get ahead of the problem.”
There are now at least 66,497 positive coronavirus cases in New York, easily the most in the country.
“We have 10 times the problem that California is dealing with,” Mr. Cuomo said.
He said the rate of hospitalizations is now doubling every six days, which is slower than previous patterns.
“There’s no doubt that the number is still increasing,” he said. “There’s also no doubt that the rate has slowed.”
Mr. Cuomo has banned most public gatherings and ordered nonessential employees to work from home, but said there is still too much “density” in New York City.
He said the city is trying to reduce density in playgrounds but hasn’t been successful.
“If that continues, we’ll take a mandatory action to close down playgrounds, as harsh as that sounds,” Mr. Cuomo said. “But it can actually save people’s lives.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had said earlier in the day that they would take another look at closing playgrounds if enough people shirked social distancing rules, but that “non-compliance” has been limited.
Mr. Cuomo also dismissed the idea that COVID-19 was primarily New York’s problem, calling the state a canary in the coal mine.
“There is no American who is immune to this virus,” he said. “I don’t care if you live in Kansas; I don’t care if you live in Texas.”
There are now more than 153,200 positive coronavirus cases in the U.S. and more than 2,800 coronavirus-related deaths in the country, according to a tracker from Johns Hopkins University.
Mr. Cuomo was speaking from the Javits Center in New York City, which has been set up as a makeshift hospital in partnership with the federal government.
The governor said it would become operational on Monday.
Mr. Cuomo spoke shortly after the USNS Comfort, a hospital ship with a bed space of about 1,000, arrived in Manhattan on Monday.
He said he had pushed the federal government to set up the 2,500-bed space at the Javits Center and the 1,000 beds on the Comfort as “COVID facilities,” but that they will be used for non-COVID-19 patients in hopes of freeing up space at other hospitals.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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