Coronavirus in NYC: Region Is Now an Epicenter of Global Pandemic
https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-nyc- ... 24000.htmlNEW YORK — Three weeks after its first coronavirus infection was discovered, the New York City region reached an alarming milestone Sunday: It now accounts for roughly 5% of the world’s confirmed cases, making it an epicenter of the global pandemic and increasing pressure on officials to take more drastic measures.
Moving to stem the crisis on multiple fronts, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York pleaded with federal officials to nationalize the manufacturing of medical supplies and ordered New York City to crack down on people congregating in public. He suggested some streets could be closed, allowing pedestrians more space.
The governor on Sunday announced measures intended to prepare for a wave of patients, including setting up temporary hospitals in three New York City suburbs and erecting a massive medical bivouac in the Jacob Javits Center on Manhattan’s west side.
Already, hospitals across the New York region are reporting a surge of coronavirus patients and a looming shortage of critical supplies like ventilators and masks.
A rapid increase in testing has revealed the extent of the outbreak: Community spread of the highly contagious virus now appears commonplace.
All told, more than 15,000 people in New York state have tested positive, with the vast majority in the New York City region. That is about half of the cases in the United States. Worldwide, the pandemic has sickened more than 314,700 people, according to official counts.
About 1 in 8 patients in New York state has been hospitalized, and 114 people had died by Sunday morning, state officials said, though the toll in New York City rose rapidly during the course of the day. Cuomo said most of the deceased were over age 70, a cohort considered particularly susceptible to the disease’s respiratory attacks.