New York hospitals continue to see encouraging trends
NEW YORK - The trends in New York's hospitals continue to be encouraging amid the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, the governor said on Friday.
Total hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and intubations are down, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. The number of new cases that walk in the door, so to speak, is still "very high"—about 2,000 per day, he said.
The state reported another 630 deaths due to COVID-19-related causes, which Cuomo called "breathtaking in its pain and grief and tragedy, and basically flat again like many of the other numbers."
The governor said people ask when this will be over? He said that won't truly happen until a vaccine is available.
In the meantime, "it will be an incremental process," he said.
The governor reiterated the same message he has had for several days: that reopening the state economy and returning New Yorkers to the new normal will require testing on a massive scale.
"The testing system is the guide post through this. It informs who can go back to work, isolate people," Cuomo said. "Testing is a totally new challenge."
Cuomo on Thursday announced that the statewide shutdown order, which he calls New York on PAUSE, will last until at least Friday, May 15.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.