ALBANY, N.Y. — To further prevent the spread of coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo is requiring non-essential workers in New York State to continue working from home for two more weeks.
Non-essential workers are now required to work from home until April 15. Cuomo says the state will monitor the situation day to day and will reassess on that date, if not before.
The governor says there is a "rolling apex" happening across the country and expects the same to happen across New York State. He added that the worst of the pandemic will hit at different times for different places in the state.
Cuomo stressed that local health providers should be looking at what's happening in different parts of the state, anticipating the situation that could happen in their area. The governor says if your area is not highly affected right now, that doesn't mean you won't have a real situation to deal with soon after.
However, Cuomo says no state is better prepared than New York. Cuomo also announced a New York State lab at Wadsworth has developed a new test kit that patients can use themselves to collect for coronavirus testing.
The governor added that 76,000 medical professionals have volunteered to help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
As of Sunday afternoon 7,195 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State bringing the total to 59,513 positive cases.
Of those who have tested positive, 8,503 people are currently hospitalized with 2,037 patients in the ICU. The governor added that 3,572 patients have been discharged; 846 of them were just released Saturday.
The number of deaths in the state has increased from 728 to 965.
During the news conference the governor also stressed the importance of finding a silver lining during this situation. He said it's important to find ways to create some joy.
