At his daily briefing on Friday, March 13, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that there have been 96 new cases of coronavirus statewide, as health officials ramp up testing in the region.
Cuomo said he spoke with President Donald Trump on Friday, hours before Trump announced in the Rose Garden he was taking emergency action to combat COVID-19.
As of Friday, March 13, COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the following New York counties:
- Albany: Two cases (one new);
- Broome: One;
- Delaware: One:
- Dutchess: Three (two new);
- Herkimer: One;
- Monroe: One;
- Nassau: 51 (10 new);
- New York City: 154 (59 new);
- Orange: Three (two new);
- Rockland: Nine (two new);
- Saratoga: One;
- Schenectady One (one new);
- Suffolk: 28 (eight new);
- Ulster: Five (one new);
- Westchester: 158 (10 new).
New York has been the hardest hit state in the country with the 421 confirmed cases, just ahead of Washington state’s 420 cases, though that state has seen 31 deaths after the virus spread through a nursing home. (See second image above.)
Of the 421 cases of COVID-19, Cuomo said that 50 are hospitalized (12 percent), and 18 are in an Intensive Care Unit.
“When I’ve spoken over the past few days, I’ve talked about watching the hospitalization rate and in particular the rate of people needing the ICU,” Cuomo said. “This is where Italy got in trouble. They didn’t have enough ICU beds fro patients who needed intensive care.
“This will be a problem in this state and this country down the road and it’s something we have to watch carefully.”
Cuomo cautioned that the outbreak “will not be a quick situation,” noting that his own daughter has been among those who are subjected to self-quarantine as a precaution.
“While we’re dealing with this underlying virus, we’re also dealing with people’s perception of the situation,” he said. “You have this issue and then you have the public perception of the issue and the fear and anxiety and the pain can be a more difficult issue than the underlying issue you’re dealing with. “
This is a fluid situation so we’re dealing with all of these issues coming up.
The coronavirus outbreak remains a developing story. Check Daily Voice for new information as it is released.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Pelham and receive free news updates.