“All evidence says we’re on the decline,” New York governor Andrew Cuomo says, noting that total hospitalizations are down again to around 1,100 – a level where they were three weeks ago. However, the death toll increased slightly to 437 people in the last 24 hours – 418 in hospitals and 19 in nursing homes – bringing the overall total to 16,599 in the state to date.
Cuomo said there were 1,100 new cases in the last 24 hours, , and they are hoping the decline will continue until there are 200 to 300 new cases a day
Cuomo, stressing the need for more testing and federal assistance, says he is signing an executive order that will allow independent pharmacists to conduct diagnostic coronavirus tests. There are about 5,000 pharmacies in New York, Cuomo says. He adds that he is expanding the scope of eligibility to get a coronavirus test in New York state.“Hopefully we’ll get to the point where anyone who wants a test they can get a test,” he says. “That was the dream.”
“It’s been 56 long days,” Cuomo says. “Generations are called upon to deal with high levels of difficulty. We are called upon to deal with this crisis. Day 56. The 1918 pandemic went on for two years. We’re in day 56. World War I went on for four years. The Great Depression went on for four years. You want to talk about economic anxiety? You want to talk about people losing homes, not being able to feed themselves, people living in camps, people living in cars. World War II, six years. Vietnam War – that intensity, every night, every night to have to hear about the tragedies – went on for eight years.
“I get 56 days is a long time, and I get it’s the worst thing that we have experienced in modern history. I get that. But just a little perspective – not that it makes our situation any better, but it gives you a sense of perspective: Yes, in life, things happen. On an individual level and on a societal level. Things happen and you have to deal with it and it’s hard. But on the other hand it makes us who we are, you get shaped by your experiences. This is a terrible experience to go through. But we will manage it, we will handle it and will be the better for it.
“Fifty-six days, all this inconvenience. Think of it this way: what you’re doing is actually saving lives. That’s not rhetorical, that’s not overly dramatic. You are saving lives. What we have done has saved lives. Every expert, every expert – CDC, White House task force, Cornell University, Columbia University, McKinsey, that group that Bill Gates funded – every one of them projected that there would be at least 100,000 more serious infections in state of New York. One hundred thousand more serious infections, more hospitalizations. What happened? We did what we had to do, which was hard and is hard. Well, what did we accomplish? One hundred thousand fewer serious infections. That’s what’s 56 days of our relative living through hell has accomplished. And that is a hell of an accomplishment. So yes, it’s not for naught: 100,000 fewer infections.
“Life is better than death, even if it is not your own.”
