New York ‘getting closer’ to reaching coronavirus peak as 630 New Yorkers die in one day: Cuomo

Gov. Cuomo said Saturday that New York state is “getting closer” to reaching the worst of the coronavirus crisis as 630 New Yorkers died in the past day and positive cases soared past 113,000.

“We’ve been talking about hitting the apex, where the number of new infections is at its high point,” he said. “We’re not yet at the apex (but) we’re getting closer.”

The grim new figures offered few signs of hope as over 3,500 New Yorkers have died from the virus, about half the national death toll.

More than 10,000 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, a new record high. About 60% of those new infections were in New York City.

The increase in cases is strongest on Long Island, which now accounts for about a quarter of the new infections, he said.

The peak of hospitalizations and death is now targeted to hit the city in about a week’s time.

Even though the number of deaths and infections keeps rising, the rate of increase is slowing, a potentially good sign that the pandemic’s curve is starting to flatten.

But Cuomo did share some good news: China has agreed to send 1,000 ventilators, a shipment that will arrive at John F. Kennedy Airport on Saturday. Oregon has also shipped 140 of the life-saving devices.

The governor thanked those coming forward to help, and vowed to return the favor.

“They see the fire spreading. Stop the fire spreading before it gets to my home,” he said.

“We will return in double-fold,” Cuomo said. “That’s who we are and that’s what we believe. (We’re ) kind, generous, also smart.”

The governor said he was itching to get through the worst hours of the crisis, but conceded the state still has far more work ahead to prepare.

It’s unclear if New York will actually see the worst of the projections, which suggested that the hospital system would be physically overwhelmed by coronavirus patients. Even as the number of infections and deaths keeps marching higher, greater numbers of patients are also being discharged from hospitals, perhaps easing the crush at the worst point.

As he has on a daily basis, Cuomo lamented the “bizarre” dislocation of everyday life that the pandemic has forced upon the people of the state.

The governor related how strange it was to hold a family birthday celebration complete with a cake, but having to stay six feet apart from relatives to comply with social distancing rules.

“The most difficult level is the human level,” he said. “It’s every day and it’s everywhere.”

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