New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) suggested Monday the state may have flattened the curve of the coronavirus outbreak, but it is too soon to tell.
Deaths related to COVID-19 have stayed flat for two days, he said, while the total number of new hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions are down.
“Those are all good signs and again would suggest a possible flattening of the curve,” he said during his daily press conference.
He thinks the state might be “very near” the peak. He will know in a few days.
“We could still see an increase, so it is hopeful, but it’s also inconclusive,” he said of the data.
There are more than 130,000 cases in New York, including 4,758 deaths.
If it is plateauing, “we are plateauing at a very high level” and there is “tremendous stress on the health care system.”
Hospitals are already running at maximum capacity, according to him although some doctors at some hospitals are reporting it’s only true of a minimal number of hospitals. The fact that there are only 20 patients on the Comfort suggests most hospitals have room. It’s true of the overflow situation at Javitts. Javitts basically has no one. If there is an overflow situation, where are the patients?
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The state continues to look for more capacity to treat patients, and Cuomo said Monday he would ask President Trump to shift the use of a Navy hospital ship docked in New York harbor to treat coronavirus patients.
The USNS Comfort is for the overflow of non-coronavirus patients — all the other patients [who are likely neglected].
He said the state would double the maximum fine for violating social distancing rules to $1,000.
“It’s not about your life,” he said. “You don’t have the right to risk somebody else’s life.”
