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.
Stocks turned lower Friday on Wall Street after New York became the latest major state to mandate nearly all workers stay home to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) is under intense scrutiny after an NPR report showed that he revealed the severity of the impending coronavirus crisis to a group of North Carolinians in private and warned of major life disruptions weeks before the federal government did the same. And, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc on supply chains, hospitals and markets, new financial disclosures show that Burr made big money moves before the indices showed the historic declines seen in recent weeks.
More than 60 percent of Americans also think a recession will come in the next year, according to a new study by YouGov.
Trump’s coronavirus task force on Thursday afternoon visited the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hear from several governors about the challenges facing their states.
In the morning conference, the governor also waived mortgage payments for 90 days and revealed the spike in new cases bringing the full total to 4,152, the most in the nation.
The drug, hydroxychloroquine, was developed more than a half-century ago and is approved for treating malaria, arthritis, and other ailments. Reports out of China and Italy suggest the drug may help, but there is no hard data yet.
Coronavirus has hit Capitol Hill, as the first members of Congress have tested positive for the virus. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) announced diagnoses late Wednesday.
The palace of Monaco says its head of state, Prince Albert II, has tested positive for the new coronavirus. In a statement Thursday, the palace of the tiny Mediterranean principality said that his health is not worrying.
GM and Tesla are among the top U.S. automakers that are looking to potentially switch over stalled auto production into the manufacturing of badly needed medical ventilators amid the coronavirus crisis.
Rep. Gabbard drops out of the Democratic presidential primary race and endorses former Vice President Joe Biden.
