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There were more than 5,700 new positive cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) confirmed in New York State the last 24 hours, bringing the state’s total to 20,875.
Nationally, there are 35,200 cases, with New York now accounting for 59 percent of cases in the nation as of midday Monday, March 23.
During his daily news briefing in Albany, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that there were 5,707 new cases reported, as New York continues widespread testing for the virus, which has hit the state harder than any other in the country.
New York’s 20,875 cases - which have resulted in 157 deaths - are more than 10 times higher than New Jersey (1,914 cases); California (1,849); Washington (1,844) and Illinois (1,049).
New York State has conducted more than 10 times as many tests as any other state.
The hardest hit areas have been:
- New York City: 12,305 cases;
- Westchester: 2,894;
- Nassau: 2,442;
- Suffolk: 1,458;
- Rockland: 529;
- Orange: 389;
- Albany: 127;
- Dutchess: 100;
- Erie: 87;
- Monroe: 76
Since Sunday, March 22, 3,260 new cases were confirmed in New York City and 1,021 in Westchester, 542 in Nassau, 424 in Suffolk, 142 in Orange County, 137 in Rockland, and 18 in Dutchess. (See first image above.)
Other counties with confirmed cases include Putnam, Sullivan, Ulster, Cayuga, Otsego, and Oswego.
Of the 20,875 cases in New York, 2,645 (13 percent) required hospitalizations, with 621 of those patients in the ICU.
Cuomo noted that the state has been busy securing emergency supplies for hospital workers, including 339,760 N-95 masks; 861,700 surgical masks; 353,500 gloves; 145,122 gowns and 197,085 face shields.
“This is just my personal opinion," Cuomo said. "I said don’t be reactive, be productive, be proactive.
“This can go on for several months. Nobody can tell you it will be four months, or six, or eight or nine months, but it’s going to be several months.
"We all have to confront that this is a new reality that’s not going to change. We’re not going to turn on the news tomorrow and see ‘surprise surprise, it’s all going to be resolved in two weeks.’
"We have to learn from this experience, because we were not ready to deal with this," he added. "Other situations will happen, and let's at least learn from this to be prepared for the next situation that is as dramatic as this one has been."
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