New York state has seen a slight decline in hospitalizations from the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press briefing Tuesday.

The state reported 18,697 hospitalizations as of Tuesday, about 100 fewer than the day before. Fewer people have also been admitted to intensive care units and intubated, signaling that the virus is reaching its peak in New York state, Cuomo said.

The coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected 203,020 people in New York state as of Tuesday and has killed 10,842. The rate of infection in the state is far lower than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had projected, Cuomo said.

“We have shown that we control the virus, the virus does not control us,” he said.

New York state is developing an economic reopening strategy with seven other states in the region, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Cuomo said.

Reopening the state’s economy will not be successful without coordination from the seven other states, Cuomo said. The states, which all share borders, must work together to prevent the continued spread of the virus, he said.

“The virus doesn’t understand state boundaries,” Cuomo said. “The virus can get on Amtrak, get on a plane, get in a car. We’re all connected.”

While the state’s overall fatality rate is beginning to flatten, nursing homes have seen an increase in deaths from COVID-19, Cuomo said. The populations most susceptible to the virus — elderly individuals and those who have underlying health conditions — live in nursing homes, he said.

The state will continue to monitor the situation in nursing homes, and has banned visitors from the facilities, the governor said. Any trace of the virus would spread rapidly among residents living in a nursing home, he said.

Cuomo criticized comments President Donald Trump made at a briefing last night, including that he has “total authority” to decide whether to lift social distancing guidelines that governors have imposed. The president’s rhetoric violates the Constitution and is “factually wrong,” he said.

“This statement cannot stand,” Cuomo said.

The governor said he will continue communicating with the president as he has since the beginning of the pandemic. Cuomo, who said he contacted Trump to ask for federal aid, praised the president for sending the U.S.N.S Comfort, a Navy hospital ship, to New York City.

“I worked very hard to be in partnership with the federal government this past month,” Cuomo said. “I look forward to working with the president in partnership and cooperation. He has no fight here.”

New York state will be able to conduct 2,000 COVID-19 tests per day starting next week, said Howard Zucker, state health commissioner. The state is looking to work with more private sector companies and hospitals to increase its testing capacity, he said.

Social distancing measures and other “extraordinary actions” have successfully kept the virus numbers down in New York state, Cuomo said.

“Our actions determine our destiny. We changed the curve,” he said.

Published on April 14, 2020 at 10:18 pm

Contact Sarah: scalessa@syr.edu | @sarahalessan