ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the state is continuing to work to increase the capacity at hospitals statewide to help deal with the influx of patients who have tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19).
Currently, there are 37,258 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 across New York State. Of those positive cases, 5,327 people are currently hospitalized with 1,290 cases in ICU.
Cuomo says deaths attributed to COVID-19 are on the rise. As of Thursday, March 26, 385 people have died in NYS. That's 100 more than the previous day.
The governor has said the reason NYS has so many cases compared to the rest of the county is because they have a denser population. The state is also doing more testing than any other state right now.
The governor says residents need to continue to slow the numbers (flatten the curve) so as not to overwhelm hospitals.
Gov. Cuomo said on Wednesday experts estimate NYS will hit its apex in about two-three weeks.
Cuomo said again on Thursday the state has all of the protective equipment the hospitals will need for staff for the immediate future during this crisis after Tuesday's purchase of protection equipment. However, they will continue to shop for more.
The state still needs ventilators. They currently have 4,000 in the system and have purchased 7,000 more. They are working with the federal government looking for more ventilators. The state is also experimenting with splitting ventilators to put two people on one ventilator.
Cuomo says some COVID-19 patients are averaging 20-30 days on ventilators.
Cuomo is also calling on the federal government and other states in the country to help New York State, as there are more people infected there and will need ventilators now. He says the state's apex will hit first, and once it starts going down, he would send those resources back to other states in need.
Gov. Cuomo says 40,000 healthcare workers have come forward to say they will help in hospitals during the crisis. More than 8,000 mental health providers, including some from outside NYS, have volunteered to provide support on a NYS hotline 1-844-863-9314.
Governor Cuomo also discussed the budget, which needs to be approved by April 1. Based on numbers, the state anticipates they will lost $10-15 billion in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuomo says the state will received $5 billion from the federal government stimulus package, but that money can only be used on COVID-19 related expenses.
For now, the state says they will dress down revenue projections and adjust the budget through the years.
