NEW YORK – Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday the latest coronavirus numbers suggest New York state is on the descent of the curve, but it is still unclear just how fast it is coming down.

DOWNWARD TREND IN DEATHS

The governor says hospitalizations and the net change in intubations are trending down while the number of newly diagnosed coronavirus patients flattened from the previous day.

However, while the number of new COVID-19-related deaths has dipped in recent days, the governor said they remain "horrifically high," with a reported 478 new deaths since Sunday.

Citywide, as of 6 p.m. Sunday, there were 132,467 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an estimated 34,729 hospitalizations, and 13,683 deaths (9,101 confirmed and 4,582 probable).

The borough-by-borough breakdown of confirmed cases, with some fluctuation in the numbers:

  • Queens: 40,714 confirmed cases
  • Brooklyn: 35,203
  • The Bronx: 29,505
  • Manhattan: 16,987
  • Staten Island: 9,986

New York state has reported, as of midnight Sunday, 247,512 confirmed coronavirus cases and 14,347 deaths.


PUSHING FOR HELP FOR TESTING

On Monday afternoon, President Donald Trump tweeted:

“States, not the Federal Government, should be doing the Testing - But we will work with the Governors and get it done.”

Cuomo said he agreed with Trump that states should take the lead on expanding testing, but he said the federal government still needed to provide assistance in expanding testing capacity and managing the supply chain of medical equipment.

“What the states will run into, is when you talk to those labs, the 300 labs, they buy machines and equipment from national manufacturers,” the governor said at his daily coronavirus press briefing in Albany.

OTHER NEWS

He also introduced a new health initiative in public housing that will include on-site health services and testing.

Cuomo said the state will also deliver 500,000 cloth masks - amounting to at least one per resident - to public housing communities. The state will also send 10,000 gallons of hand sanitizer.

The governor also suggested that front-line workers receive hazard pay for continuing to report to work amid the pandemic, noting that two-thirds of them are women and one-third come from low-income households. He made an appeal to pay those workers better with federal money, not funds from the state.

“Pay them what they deserve. I would say hazard pay, give them a 50 percent bonus, and I would do that now,” he said. “Yes, airlines. Also, front-line workers.”

Cuomo reiterated that the next federal stimulus package must provide needed relief directly to the states. New York has a hole in its budget of an estimated $10 to $15 billion. Without federal help, the governor said, there coul be 20 percent cuts across the board for schools, hospitals, and local governments.

Cuomo added that a group of New York hospitals will submit the results of their hydroxychloroquine trials to federal health officials Monday.

He gave no indication of the results of the trials, which are meant to determine whether the drug can effectively treat COVID-19.

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This story included reporting from Zack Fink.

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