During a Wednesday press conference, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said social distancing will be key to making sure state hospitals can handle the apex of cases expected in late April. 

“This all comes down to at the apex, can your hospital system manage the volume of people coming into the hospital system? That’s all this is about at the final analysis,” he said. 

He presented one model that showed a need of 110,000 “COVID beds” and 37,000 ventilators by the end of April, if there is minimal impact from social distancing. Those numbers drop to 75,000 and 25,000 respectively based on higher compliance with social distancing.

The governor said that 391 New Yorkers died within the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 1,941 deaths and 83,000 cases.

He also showed a projection that predicts a total of 16,000 will die in the state before the population achieves “herd immunity.”

“We’re still looking for the curve to straighten, we’re still looking at where we see a plateau,” Cuomo said. “The line is still going up.”

State hospitals will begin to coordinate more, Cuomo said, by sharing supplies, medical personnel, and eventually moving patients from hard-hit areas to less-burdened hospitals.

Cuomo made official an earlier warning that he’d close playgrounds and public sports facilities in New York City if people didn’t voluntarily avoid them.

“I warned people that if they didn’t stop the density and the games in the playgrounds — you can’t play basketball, you can’t come in contact with each other — that we would close the playgrounds,” he said.

The governor noted that he is still open to people returning to work before the virus has completely run its course, assuming widespread testing is available to ensure status.

“My opinion is that the best way to do that is to come up with a rapid testing procedure,” he said.

Biotechnology company Regeneron is providing 500,000 testing kits to New Yorkers free of charge, according to Cuomo.

Share:
More In Politics
U.S. Stocks Close Slightly Higher As Inflation, Recession Fears Persist
U.S. stocks close Monday's session slight higher Monday as investors continue to monitor whether the economy will successfully avoid a recession. For many, fears over inflation and rising interest rates. Tommy Mancuso, president and co-founder of the Bad Investment Company, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
'The End is Nye' With Bill Nye the TikTok Guy and His Natural Disasters Streaming Series
Bill Nye the Science Guy is back but on an even smaller screen. America’s favorite science teacher has racked up more than eight million followers on TikTok, and he joined Cheddar News to talk about his success on the platform, having fun but also being serious about scientific topics like tackling climate change, and his newest hosting project "The End is Nye," a streaming show on Peacock that examines disasters — both natural and manmade. "There are six episodes. We have big disasters. Things go terribly wrong, and then we show you how things could have gone right," he explained.
The Biden Administration Takes On Inflation
Cheddar Politics takes a look at the Biden Administration's effort to center inflation concerns in the White House's economic policies. Reuters White House reporter Jeff Mason joins Cheddar News to discuss what the White House is doing and what more it can do to help fix economic issues.
European Union Announces Historic Embargo On Russian Oil
In another round of sweeping sanctions against Russia for its war on Ukraine, European Union leaders have agreed to ban the vast majority of Russian oil by the end of the year. But, the embargo covers only Russian oil brought in by sea, allowing an exemption for fuel imported via pipeline. Christine McDaniel, a senior fellow with the Mercatus Center, discusses just how significant this deal is, and what impact it might have on the global energy sector.
U.S. Stocks Close Near Session Lows, Post Weekly Losses
U.S. stocks closed Friday's session near session to cap off the week in the red. The disappointing end to the day and week follows a lukewarm May jobs report from the Labor Department and comes as investors continue to eye future rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Callie Cox, U.S. Investment Analyst for eToro, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
GUN LAWS IN OTHER COUNTRIES
While the United States struggles with mass shootings, other countries have had success with gun regulations - often after their own mass shootings. On this Gun Awareness Day, Cheddar's Shannon LaNier reports on steps some other countries have taken to stop gun violence.
Load More