New York remains the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. and now accounts for around 5% of all cases around the world. The total number of confirmed cases stands at over 23,000 this morning. The “attack rate,” or the percentage of the population infected with the virus, was nearly one in 1,000 in New York — five times higher than in other parts of the country.
Over 180 New Yorkers have died, and the pace of deaths is expected to accelerate. On Monday, the Brooklyn Democracy Academy announced the passing of the school’s principal, Dezann Romain, due to complications from COVID-19. Romain was just 36 years old. She’s the first public school employee in New York known to have died from coronavirus.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said New York is now able to test 16,000 people a day. At a daily press briefing, Cuomo ordered New York hospitals to increase their capacity by 50%. The Javits Convention Center is expected to be converted into an additional hospital this week to start handling the overflow of coronavirus patients. Cuomo again urged the federal government to take decisive action to send emergency funding to the state, as well as to produce and distribute much-needed medical supplies.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo: “Let the federal government put in place the federal Defense Production Act. It does not nationalize any industry. All it does is say to a factory, 'You must produce this quantity.' That’s all it does.”
In other parts of the country, governors and local officials are also clamoring for much-needed supplies. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said Monday a recent shipping of personal protective equipment, or PPE, from the national stockpile was barely enough to cover one shift at a hospital. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said 400 ventilators from the federal stockpile were sent to New York City to help treat the growing number of patients.
Governor Cuomo also announced Monday New York will be the first state to test a coronavirus treatment that involves injecting blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients into individuals fighting off the disease.