New York state has more than 4,000 cases after conducting thousands of tests on Wednesday night, the governor announced in a press conference Thursday morning.
In the morning conference, the governor revealed the spike in new cases bringing the full total to 4,152, the most in the nation, while also waiving mortgage payments for 90 days .
The high numbers reflect the growing community spread of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, but also a statewide increase in test production and processing. Last night, the state processed tests of 7,584 people, Cuomo said and counted more than 1,700 new cases since Wednesday. The governor also noted that 777 people had been hospitalized in the state and at least 29 had died.
Since Monday, the case count in New York has more than quadrupled.
Cuomo sat next to his 22-year-old daughter as he pleaded with young people to heed the advice from health officials to stay home. Referencing videos of young people saying "This is my spring break, I’m out to party," he called the actions “unintelligent and reckless.”
A new CDC report corroborates Cuomo's remarks, showing a higher-than-expected share of young people requiring hospitalization in the U.S., based on the first 2,500 cases. Stories out of China had led some to believe that younger age brackets were at a substantially lower risk, which may have contributed to the demographic being less risk-averse, Dr. Deborah Birx warned yesterday in a national press conference.
Cuomo also ordered nonessential businesses to keep at least 75 percent of their respective workforces home, an escalation from the previous day's order of keeping at least 50 percent out of the office.
He again called for the federal government to help states who are facing a shortage of ventilators, saying that New York currently has between 5,000 and 6,000 devices available.
