The total number of coronavirus hospitalizations in New York is leveling off after weeks of medical facilities being flooded with COVID-19 patients.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the positive development during a press conference on Tuesday, but also stressed social distancing must remain a top priority to keep the number of cases in check.
“Right now, we are projecting that we are reaching a plateau in the total number of hospitalizations, and you can see the growth, and you see it starting to flatten,” Cuomo said.
He added, “Again, this is a projection. It still depends on what we do. And what we do will affect those numbers. This is not an act of God that we are looking at. It’s an act of what society actually does.”
Cuomo said the number of people who required intubation has declined, leaving hospitals more sure about their capability to treat every patient without running out of beds. He explained, “We have started with the system of about 53,000 beds statewide up to about 90,000 available beds, so we have more than enough beds available.”
It wasn’t all good news as 731 people who had tested positive for coronavirus died on Monday, a new single-day record.
“The bad news is 5,489 New Yorkers have lost their lives to this virus. That is up from 4,758. That is the largest single-day increase,” Cuomo said. “And we talk about numbers, but that is 731 people who we lost. Behind every one of those numbers is an individual, it’s a family, it’s a mother, and it’s a father, it’s a sister, it’s a brother. So, a lot of pain again today for many New Yorkers, and they are in our thoughts and prayers.”
As of Tuesday, New York had more than 138,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
