The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York State rose to 75,795 Tuesday, Govenor Andrew M. Cuomo said, and he reminded residents “Your stupid actions don’t just affect you.”
In his daily briefing, the governor warned New Yorkers to stay inside and adjust their expectations about COVID-19 shutdowns and prepare for a long haul. He said projections about when the apex of infections might hit range from seven to 21 days.
The fight against the virus, he said, must occur simultaneously on two fronts: the health care system, where the government is working to improve responsiveness, and at home, where individuals must govern their personal behavior.
“Stay at home,” the governor said. “Don’t get infected in the first place because it goes back to you’re creating a burden on our health care system that our health care system cannot handle.”
He also announced that his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, has tested positive for COVID-19 and is self-quarantined at and working from home.
“It’s my family, it’s your family, it’s all of our families,” the governor said, reminding residents that he named the state’s mandatory stay home oder Matilda’s Law after his own elderly mother.
“Remember who is vulnerable here and protect them,” he said. “You want to go out and act stupid for yourself, that’s one thing. But your stupid actions don’t just affect you. You come home, you can infect someone else and you can cause a serious illness or even death for them, by your actions.”
“People have to really get this and internalize it.”
“Individual responsibility is about discipline, it’s about selflessness and it’s about being informed,” he said.
Adjusting expectations
“We need a social acceptance of the time expectation,” he said. “We’re all anxious. We’re all tired. We’re all fatigued. It’s been all bad news for a long time. Our whole lifestyle has been disrupted. Everybody wants to know one thing: When is it over.”
“Nobody knows,” Cuomo said. “You can have a hypothesis, you can have a projection, you can have an opinion. But nobody knows.”
But, he added, “it is not going to be soon.”
And, once the apex of infection passes, he said, “you have to come down the other side of the mountain.”
“Calibrate yourself and your expectations so you’re not disappointed every morning you get up.”
Today’s data
He said the number of people tested statewide exceeded 200,000, with 17,685 here in Suffolk County.
In Suffolk County, there are 6,713 confirmed cases, up 922 from the day before, the governor said. Currently 10,929 people statewide are hospitalized, up 1,412. Of that number, 2,710 patients required intensive care unit treatment, up 358.
The statewide death toll rose to 1,550 cases, up 332 from 1,218 on Monday, the governor said.
A statewide response
“The march of coronavirus across New York State continues,” Cuomo said, noting that just two of the state’s 62 counties were reporting no known infections.
But the vast majority of cases are in the New York metropolitan area, including New York City, Westchester County and Long Island, he said. In response, the health care system is being recalibrated to shift resources where they’re needed most.
The state has formed a central coordinating team that includes representatives from the state Department of Health and major associations representing 160+ hospitals from around the state.
The team will organize:
- upstate to downstate staffing
- assist currently distressed hospitals in New York City
- set thresholds for hospitals in each system
- set stands for transfers among New York City hospitals
- set standards for transfers for Westchester and Long ISland hospitals
- estalish which upstate hospitals can receive patients
- coordinate stockpiles of supplies held by the state, the city and individual hospitals
- facilitate staffing recruitment
Giving control over to a centralized system, Cuomo said, is a paradigm shift for hospitals accustomed to focusing on their own cases, planning their own budgets and hiring their own staff.
