Cuomo: Over 113,000 coronavirus cases in NY, more than 3,500 dead
NEW YORK - A total of 113,704 people in New York State have tested positive for coronavirus and 3,565 people have died, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference on Saturday.
The grim toll is up from 2,935 deaths on Friday, with Cuomo saying that he believes the apex is still four to eight days away. However, he also underlined that two-thirds of the people who have been hospitalized due to the virus have been discharged.
Cuomo also revealed that China is donating 1,000 ventilators that will be arriving at JFK International Airport on Saturday, and that the state of Oregon is delivering 140 ventilators to New York. However, Cuomo said that the state was still gathering equipment to deal with the apex, and that the state will have to make do with what they have.
Cuomo also said that the death toll in New York City alone had risen to 2,624.
Cuomo said that the number of coronavirus hospitalizations on Long Island had grown exponentially in the last few days. Nassau County currently has 13,346 coronavirus cases, while Suffolk County has 11,370.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said that the county is basically out of personal protective equipment.
“We’re continuing to look to purchase where we can,” Bellone said.
Cuomo also announced that the federal government will be staffing and equipping 2,500 beds in the Javits Center for coronavirus patients.
“I want this all to be over,” Cuomo said. “It’s only gone on for 30 days since our first case. It feels like an entire lifetime. I think we all feel the same. This stresses this country, this state in a way nothing else has frankly in my lifetime.”
The number of people infected in the U.S. has now exceeded a quarter-million, with the death toll climbing past 7,000.