New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday the curve of coronavirus deaths appears to be flattening after the death toll stabilized at around 600 deaths on both Sunday and Monday, but he warned the situation is still dire and New Yorkers would need to maintain strict measures to continue the trend.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo: “If we are plateauing, we are plateauing at a very high level, and there’s tremendous stress on the healthcare system. And to say to this healthcare system — which is at maximum capacity today, right? This is a hospital system where we have our foot to the floor and the engine is at red line and you can’t go any faster. And by the way, you can’t stay at red line for any period of time, because the system will blow.”
Cuomo said schools and nonessential businesses will now remain closed until April 29, and announced fines for violating social distancing rules would increase from a maximum of $500 to $1,000. As of today, New York state has nearly 5,000 recorded deaths from COVID-19, with over 131,000 confirmed cases and over 16,000 hospitalizations.