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.
A rising generation of Republican stars offered an optimistic view of President Donald Trump's leadership but was undermined on the opening night of the GOP's scaled-back convention by speakers issuing dark warnings about the country's future and distorting the president's record, particularly on the coronavirus pandemic.
President Donald Trump has turned a surprise opening-day appearance at his party’s scaled-down national political convention into an opportunity to cast doubt on the integrity of the fall election.
Video app TikTok is waging a legal fight against the Trump Administration’s efforts to ban the popular, Chinese-owned service over national-security concerns.
Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told lawmakers Monday that he has warned allies of President Donald Trump that the president’s repeated attacks on mail-in ballots are “not helpful,” but denied that recent changes at the Postal Service are linked to the November elections.
Cheddar has learned exclusively that Grammy-nominated musician and crypto entrepreneur Akon is endorsing bitcoin billionaire Brock Pierce for President of the United States, and will serve as chief strategist for Pierce 2020.
The room is set and delegates begin to arrive for the first day of the Republican National Convention, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Former South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy talks Washington's inability to strike a second stimulus deal and the lack of communication between parties.
Facing public backlash, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has told a Senate panel that it’s his “sacred duty” to ensure election mail delivery. But he told senators on Friday that he has no plans to restore curbside mail collection boxes or high-speed sorting machines that have been removed.
Sen. Kamala Harris has become a beacon of cautious hope among cannabis advocates and industry insiders who hope she’ll push a more conservative Joe Biden left on cannabis issues.
Political ad spending is up across the board. Cheddar's Michelle Castiillo takes a look at what topics politicians are focusing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
