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New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo (D) speaking at a press Conference at the State Capitol.
Michael Brochstein | Echoes Wire | Barcroft Media via Getty Images
New York is still struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak across the state with 2,000 new hospitalizations a day, even as public officials make plans to gradually reopen parts of the economy for business, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.
Cuomo and other governors across the nation are desperate to loosen restrictions and reopen businesses that were shuttered to help curb the outbreak that’s already killed more than 33,300 people in the U.S. since emerging from Wuhan, China less than four months ago.
“The situation we have now is unsustainable. People can’t stay in their homes for this length of time, they can’t stay out of work. You can’t keep the economy closed forever. You just can’t,” Cuomo said. “Society can’t handle it personally or economically. So now we’re moving into another phase, which is this reopening phase.”
On Thursday, Cuomo announced that he was extending the state’s shutdown of nonessential businesses to May 15 as officials tryto strike a delicate balance of getting people back to work without causing cases to spike again.
“How do you plan a reopening of an economy and at the same time be cognizant of the public health crisis that you’re still in,” Cuomo asked.
While the hospitals in New York aren’t as overwhelmed with coronavirus cases as originally predicted, Cuomo said the state is far from claiming victory.
The number of new Covid-19 cases admitted to the hospital “is still about 2,000 per day and that is still very high,” he said. “And if you notice it’s hovered about the same rate for several weeks. It peaked, but 2,000, that’s a very high number.”
This is a developing story. Please check back later for updates.
