Gov. Cuomo: NY Cases Top 20,000, Over 12,000 In NYC

The New York Post reports:

The number of confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus has climbed to 20,875 statewide, including 12,305 in the five boroughs of New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

The grim toll also includes 157 deaths in the Empire State, Cuomo said — representing more than a third of the 463 deaths nationwide. “I see it as a wave that will break at one point, and the question is, what is the point of the break?” said Cuomo. “When the wave breaks, does it crash over the health-care system?”

To help ease the strain on New York’s already overtaxed hospital system, Cuomo announced an executive order asking registered nurses statewide enlist to combat the contagion.

The New York Times reports:



To address the imminent influx of patients infected with coronavirus in New York, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said Monday morning that he would issue an emergency order requiring hospitals to increase capacity by at least 50 percent. The order was a mandatory directive from the state, Mr. Cuomo said, adding, “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say try to reach a 100 percent increase, but you must reach a 50 percent increase.”

New York now represents nearly 6 percent of global cases and Mr. Cuomo’s order followed a string of increasingly urgent measures to suppress the spread of disease. Still, on Monday, the governor also began to speak about taking steps to pivot to a more functional economy. “I take total responsibility for shutting off the economy in terms of essential workers,” he said. “But we also have to start to plan the pivot back to economic functionality. You can’t stop the economy forever.”