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During his daily COVID-19 news briefing on Monday, April 13, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that there are now 195,031 confirmed cases statewide, which have resulted in the deaths of 10,056 New Yorkers, up from the total of 935 a day earlier.
The total comes after 671 residents died on Easter Sunday, the ninth straight day with more than 600 reported COVID-19 deaths in the state. The only countries with more COVID-19 deaths than New York are Italy, Spain, France, and the United Kingdom.
“For me, Easter Sunday is the high holy day in many ways, and to have this happen over this weekend is really, especially tragic,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said that while the death toll continues to rise, social distancing and “stay at home” measures have proven relatively effective, as the hospitalization rate continues to level out, with approximately 18,000 hospitalizations reported over the last several days.
“It appears we have a plateau,” Cuomo said. “There’s definitely a flattening. That is good news.”
Cuomo called it a “delicate balance” regarding reopening the state and businesses, noting that it will have to be a gradual thing as the state eases out of isolation and slowly restarts the economy.
“It’s a difficult conversation. People want it to be over so badly,” he said. “I want the fear to stop and the anxiety to stop, I want it to be over more than anybody else. But we need to continue controlling the spread. If you isolate and take the precautions, your family won’t get infected. We can feel good about that. We could have gotten to a point where we say we can’t control the damn thing. We could have gotten there.”
Cuomo said that it could still be 12 to 18 months until the world restores to its “new normal.”
“We have to stay the course, because what we have accomplished is through people doing extraordinary, brave, courageous things,” he added. “We have to open the valve slowly and listen to the advice of our experts. If we don’t, we’re going to see those numbers shoot right back up.”
The governor was expected to host a joint conference with other governors in the northeast states on Monday afternoon to discuss plans for reopening the region. Check Daily Voice for updates following the 2 p.m. conference.
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