Andrew Cuomo has become an emerging figure with the expansion of the coronavirus. The daily press conferences of the governor of NY they are an exercise in common sense, good wishes and encouraging messages to compensate for some tragic “facts”, which show that this state and its great metropolis have become the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States.
The New York state had this Monday with 20,875 positives -13,119 in the city-, out of a total of 41,701 in the country, which is the third in the world. The dead in the United States amounted to at least 550. of which 157 corresponded to NY, of which 125 were residents of the Big Apple.
Deborah Birx, coordinator of the team of the White House against coronavirus, he assured that the New York metropolitan area “is experiencing an incidence rate of one sick person for every thousand citizens, or five times more than the rest of the other areas. The city has a third of all cases in the country. Dr. Birx added that 28% of the tests in that region came out positive while in the rest of the nation that percentage is less than 8%. “To my friends and colleagues in New York, that’s the group that needs social distancing and self-isolation at the same time,” he said. “Clearly the virus has been circulating there for several weeks to reach this level of penetration in the general community,” he noted.
This Monday was the first day that confinement was launched, soft because it is allowed to go out for a walk, in which only those who perform essential tasks are allowed to leave the house to work. The list is long, from grocery stores, gas stations, laundries, transport and courier services, journalists, banks, pharmacies, health facilities, liquor stores or, among others, mechanical and bicycle workshops.
The police have lowered the proximity between citizens in the parks
It was also the first day that the New York police applied control in the parks by reducing the density and proximity between citizens so that “meetings” like those that were registered last Saturday do not take place. Mayor Bill de Blasio remarked that those congregations will be prevented from the beginning. “You go to the park to play sports or to walk, but always with social distance (1.80 meters), and it is not about socializing.” For now, the playgrounds will be open, although the children will not be able to interact and the agents will be able to evict them if they observe an excess of people inside.
In the interest of lowering the density, Cuomo has also proposed closing streets in New York, which have been left with very few vehicles, and yield to pedestrians, so that the distances between them are increased.
“Don’t be reactive, be productive. This is going to last a few months and we have to face a new reality. What to do with this weather? Avoid the negative effects, do not underestimate the emotional trauma and the impact of isolation. The goal is to maintain social distance and be spiritually connected, “Cuomo reflected on Monday after new data indicating an unstoppable growth of contagion cases.
Lack of sanitary infrastructure and lack of masks and ventilators for the most serious cases
The governor decreed an urgent and mandatory measure for hospitals to increase their capacity by 50%. This should allow reaching 75,000 beds. He noted that later this will be increased to 100%. This situation, which would allow a jump from 50,000 beds to more than 110,000, requires, therefore, health personnel, which is why retirees and people with knowledge in the matter have been called.
The other deficit section is the material, especially masks and fans to apply to the most serious cases. Cuomo insisted that the own war legislation be applied and production nationalized, a circumstance that President Donald Trump opposes.
Cuomo also visited the facilities of the Javits Convention Center, on the west side of Manhattan. It is one of the spaces in which, with the collaboration of the federal emergency agency (FEMA), they have begun to install four health centers each with a capacity for 250 beds. The National Guard, deployed after the White House declared a state of disaster, will collaborate in the construction of three other field hospitals in different areas of the state.
The governor justifies the comeback in positives in that New York is denser, with people coming from many different places, and by the spectacular rise in the performance of the tests. In ten days it has gone from 1,000 people analyzed per day to 20,000 daily. Only in the city 33,003 people have undergone a diagnosis, of which 6,614 were made on Sunday. On that day, around 25% of the tests completed nationwide were conducted in New York State. This places him in the per capita test above South Korea, which marked “the golden rule,” he said.
“Look at the positive side – says Cuomo – there is less noise, you have more time and you can enjoy more of the family”
Of the nearly 21,000 positives, 2,635 are hospitalized, which represents 13%. Of these, 24%, 621 patients, are in the intensive care unit.
In his section on “personal opinions”, Cuomo tries to maintain the morale of the population with a compassion that is the antipode of Trump’s attitude.
“I can’t hug or kiss my daughter, which is natural. This disorients us, because it is what we do naturally in society. We are not prepared for this but we will learn from this situation for the next time ”, he confirmed.
Cuomo required citizens not to get carried away by anxiety over the need to get supplies of food or gasoline because “there will be no shortage.” And he looked for the positive side of the situation: “There is less noise, you have more time and flexibility, you can enjoy your family more or do what you said you would do for a long time. It’s a crazy situation, but it can also be a nice gift. “
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