New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday provided his daily coronavirus update from the Javits Convention Center, which opened today as an emergency field hospital. 

The governor said both the Javits Center and the USNS Comfort hospital ship, which docked in the city this morning, will serve patients dealing with non-coronavirus medical needs. That should leave New York City hospitals to serve as the frontline of the coronavirus outbreak. 

While expressing gratitude for federal support the state has received, Cuomo stressed that the city is not an "anomaly" but rather a "canary in the coal mine" for what the rest of the state and country will soon experience. 

"What you see us going through here, you will see happening all across this country," he said. 

"Anyone who says this situation is a New York City-only situation is in a state of denial."

All but one county in the state of New York has a confirmed COVID-19 case, he added. 

Collaboration has been complicated, however, by the fact that states are competing for the same stock of limited supplies. 

"We're competing amongst ourselves. We're driving the prices up. When we started buying ventilators, they were under $20,000. The ventilators are now over $50,000 if you can find them," Cuomo said. 

The governor echoed a message from Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier today emphasizing that New York would provide guidance and direct assistance to other areas once they, too, become hot zones.  

The state's latest death toll from the virus now stands at 1,218, a jump of about 300 from Sunday. Cuomo said the jump correlates with an increasing number of patients who have died after prolonged periods of ventilators use, suggesting that patients with more serious cases are beginning to succumb to the disease. 

In a bit of positive news, Cuomo reported that cases are now doubling at a slower rate than that had been, down from doubling every two days to every six days. 

"While the overall number of cases is going up, the rate of doubling is actually down," Cuomo said.

Share:
More In Politics
NY State Sen. John Liu Discusses AAPI Representation in Politics, Ongoing Hate Crimes
New York State Senator John Liu spoke with Cheddar News about Asian-American representation in politics, his bill to make Asian-American history mandatory in schools, and the ongoing hate crimes against his community. State Sen. Liu also discussed the debate over student loan forgiveness and gave his take on artificial intelligence in education.
Criminal Defense Attorney Discusses NY Rep. Santos Charges
Criminal defense attorney Tamara Holder joined Cheddar News to break down the charges that New York Republican Congressman George Santos is facing. "When the feds come after you -- and this is for anyone, a politician or not -- they generally have already built their case before they indict you," Holder said, regarding the timeline of Rep. Santos' arrest.
Load More