-
Deaths in New York State: 606, the fewest in 10 days, for a total of 12,192.
-
Three-day average number of hospitalized virus patients: down 2 percent, the second straight daily decline.
-
Number of intubated patients: down for the fifth day in the last six. Intubated patients are the most likely to die of the virus.
-
Virus patients in intensive care: Down 134 people from Wednesday.
- New York governor Andrew Cuomosaid businesses would need to “reimagine” how they can operate as the state looks to reopen the economy. A number of businesses have switched to telework amid the pandemic, and Cuomo suggested some businesses might continue that practice even as the economy starts to reopen.
- Cuomo reiterated that the state would need to significantly expand its testing capacity to start reopening the economy. The governor once again said the federal government would need to get involved to sufficiently improve testing. Cuomo acknowledged the federal government is “not eager to get involved in testing,” but he described it as an absolute necessity to move toward reopening.
- Cuomo said the state would send 100 ventilators to New Jersey. Cuomo similarly announced yesterday that New York would send ventilators to Maryland and Michigan as those states address a surge in coronavirus cases.
- Andrew Cuomo announced the state’s stay-at-home order, known as “New York Pause” would be extended for another month until 15 May. Cuomo said New Yorkers’ actions had brought the infection spread rate, meaning the number of people each infected person goes on to infect, to 0.9. He wants to bring it down to Wuhan’s supposed infection rate to 0.3
- Cuomo described the stay-at-home orders issued by many state and local leaders as “some of the most life-changing policies government has ever issued,” and he expressed gratitude that “people are choosing to do the right thing.” “I trust in New Yorkers,” Cuomo said. “And what they have done has worked.”
- “It’s about the behavior of our people,” Cuomo said. “It’s that simple.”
- In a rare moment of political conflict with Trump, Cuomo dismissed Trump’s claim that New York was inflating its coronavirus death toll after the city revised its figure to include probable coronavirus deaths.
- Cuomo described Trump’s claim as “even more bizarre than usual,” emphasizing that officials obviously do not want to see the death toll rise.
