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Who is still getting sick in NY?
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a 3-day survey of new hospitalizations shows a breakdown of who is still falling ill despite weeks of social distancing and stay-at-home efforts.
NEW YORK (AP) - The great majority of people being newly hospitalized with the coronavirus in New York are either retired or unemployed and were avoiding public transit, according to a new state survey, the first such look at people still getting seriously ill despite six weeks of severe social distancing.
The survey of 1,269 patients admitted to 113 hospitals over three recent days confounded expectations that new cases would be dominated by essential workers, especially those regularly traveling on subways and busses.
Retirees accounted for 37% of those who responded and another 46% were unemployed. Almost three-quarters were 51 years or older.
The survey said 4% used public transportation in their daily life, but also noted that almost half of the surveys were left blank for that response.
"It reinforces what we've been saying, which is much of this comes down to what you do to protect yourself," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at his daily briefing. "Everything is closed down, the government has done everything it could ... now it's up to you. Are you wearing a mask, are you doing the hand sanitizer?"
The survey also showed, however, that 18% of the people admitted to hospitals with the virus had been transferred from nursing homes, underscoring the difficulty those facilities have had controlling infections.
People were far less likely to be hospitalized in other institutional settings. Fewer than 1% were in jails; 4% were in assisted living; 2% in congregate housing and 2% were homeless.
While hospitalization rates have been easing in New York, an average of more than 600 people per day have been admitted to hospitals in the state over the past three days.
The virus killed 232 people in the state Tuesday, Cuomo said, and nearly 2,800 people tested positive for the virus.
The survey was part of an effort by health officials to target their outbreak-fighting efforts more precisely.
Many survey results conformed with previous findings. More than half the hospitalizations were in New York City. African-Americans accounted for 21% of hospitalizations and Hispanics another 17%.
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Here are other coronavirus developments in New York:
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BUSINESS LIABILITY
A coalition of New York businesses is calling on the state to provide liability protections once they reopen.
The call mirrors a push by President Donald Trump and Republicans at the federal level to include liability protections for businesses in a potential aid package for the states.
"Every retailer, every restaurant, every movie theatre, and every school undertakes some risk by opening their doors," read the letter to Cuomo from groups including the Business Council of New York State and the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York.
The coalition wants New York to protect businesses from COVID-19-related lawsuits during the recovery if they are abiding by applicable laws and rules.
The Cuomo administration didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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NEW YORK MAYOR: CAUTIOUS REOPENING
De Blasio said Wednesday that 10 advisory councils on small business, the arts and culture, faith-based institutions and other sectors are being set up to help guide the city's eventual reopening. The councils will have 20 to 40 members each and will be led by deputy mayors, he said.
The mayor cautioned that the city is a long way from being able to end restrictions intended to contain the virus, and he said the rest of the country should not reopen too quickly either.
"Thank God things are getting better in New York City but we still have a long way to go," de Blasio said.