NY now has more than 10,000 coronavirus cases
NEW YORK - Gov. Andrew Cuomo says there are now more than 10,000 positive cases of coronavirus in New York State.
At a Saturday morning news conference, he said that the number of cases is due to the high number of tests that the state has performed. More than 45,000 tests have been conducted at hospitals and mobile testing facilities. The official total on Saturday was 10,356.
Cuomo says that there are 6,211 cases in New York City, 1,385 in Westchester, 1,234 in Nassau County, 622 in Suffolk County, 262 in Rockland County.
1,603 out of the 10,356 victims are currently hospitalized, according to the governor.
Cuomo says 54 percent of the coronavirus cases in New York State are people between the ages of 18 and 49 years old, and once again asked young people to observe social distancing rules.
The governor repeated his calls for calm.
"Practice humanity. Show some compassion. Show some humanity," Cuomo told New Yorkers.
According to Cuomo, anywhere from 40 to 80 percent of the population of New York State will be infected by the coronavirus.
Cuomo says that New York is testing more people than any state in the U.S., with more tests per capita than China and South Korea.
Cuomo also said the state is reviewing places to put new hospital beds in response to the coronavirus outbreak, including New York City's main convention center and some state university campuses, with the goal to get hospital capacity, which now stands at around 50,000, up to 75,000 beds.
Possible locations for temporary hospitals, which would be operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, include Stony Brook University and SUNY College at Old Westbury on Long Island and the Westchester County Center, in addition to Manhattan's Javits Center, Cuomo said.
“Everything that can be done is being done," he said.
The state is going to send more than a million masks to New York City for use by emergency and hospital workers. The state has also located 6,000 new ventilators to be used to treat victims.
With the Associated Press.