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New York state recorded its deadliest day since May on Wednesday with 67 COVID-related deaths.
The total is the highest since May 29, when 67 people also died. The number of daily deaths had reached a low of one on August 30 and September 20, before cases and deaths started to rise again.
The troubling statistics were unveiled by Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his Thanksgiving Day coronavirus briefing on Thursday, in which he also revealed a “ winter plan ” in anticipation of a spike in cases during the months the coldest.
“What we’re going to do over this Thanksgiving weekend and next week, we’re going to be working on a winter plan now,” Cuomo said. “All the world experts say the same thing: this virus has phases and as the phases change, your plan should change.”
While the state will need to weigh the consequences of the holiday celebrations into its plan, Cuomo said, “ There are a number of theories about how severe the increase is after Thanksgiving, but they all predict an increase after Thanksgiving.
“We are seeing air travelers increase, we are seeing car travelers increase and we know that the higher the social activity, the higher the infection rate,” he continued.
Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled ‘winter plan’ to fight virus ahead of possible second wave of COVID-19
New York reported its deadliest day since May 29 on Wednesday, with 67 deaths reported statewide
Unveiling the details of the plan, Cuomo said he would prioritize keeping schools open, especially for children in kindergarten through eighth grade.
The governor will also maintain the months-old “microcluster” approach, in which certain areas are considered yellow, orange or red areas based on their infection rates.
“On the winter level, we will stay with the micro-cluster approach because the targets spread, it minimizes the economic impact and it emphasizes the responsibility and individual and community responsibility. So it works very well, ”he said.
However, this time around, Cuomo said he would add new factors to the formula, including hospitalization rates, the number of hospital beds remaining in a given area, and the extent to which elective surgery is available.
“An infection rate in a place where there is a shortage of hospital beds is more severe than an infection rate in a place that has fewer hospital beds. So that’s one of the exercises we’re going through right now, Cuomo explained.
On Thursday in New York state, based on 200,000 tests, the overall infection rate was 3.1%, Long Island 3.3% and New York 2.5%.
Cuomo holds up a new Thanksgiving-themed face mask during his daily coronavirus briefing at the Wyandanch-Wheatley Heights Ambulance Corp
Regarding schools, the governor said the state aims to keep “schools open and keep them open by setting a safe positivity rate. All the data indicates that schools are safer than the surrounding community.
Part of the equation for keeping schools open is continuing testing in schools, he said.
“We need a sustainable screening rate in schools,” Cuomo continued. “In other words, if we’re going to keep schools open, it has to be a level of testing that local school districts can provide for an extended period… you have to get through the winter.
Additionally, Cuomo said the state needs to balance the number of tests in schools, with the number of tests in retirement homes and those for essential workers.
New York’s public schools closed indefinitely on Nov. 19 after the infection rate hit 3%, the threshold for such a measure set in September by Mayor Bill de Blasio. He said on Wednesday he would announce a plan next week on how to start reopening schools in the coming weeks.
A third element of Cuomo’s plan emphasizes developing a vaccine distribution plan that is both “fair and efficient.”
Details will be shared in the coming days, Cuomo said, adding that the state is currently in talks with the local government over its winter plan.
Across New York State on Thursday, based on 200,000 tests, the overall infection rate was 3.1%, Long Island 3.3% and New York 2.5% , Cuomo said.
A total of 3,056 people have been hospitalized with the virus and 67 have died – the highest total reported in the state since May 29.
“ We know what’s going on and the numbers tell the same story, because we’ve seen the movie in New York, we’ve seen the movie across the country. Positivity increases, more people get sick, more people go to the hospital, more people go to the ICU, more people are intubated and the number of deaths increases, ”Cuomo said.
“Compared to the rest of the country, New York State is still doing incredibly well,” he continued.
During the meeting, Cuomo also downplayed the Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday night that sided with New York’s religious organizations in a dispute over the Covid-19 restrictions he had put in place on religious gatherings.
‘It has no practical impact, as the area they were talking about was already moot – it expired last week. So I think it was really just an opportunity for the court to express its philosophy and policy. It has no practical effect, ”Cuomo said.
And in terms of church gatherings, listen, I’m a former altar boy. Catholic, Catholic high school, Catholic high school, Jesuits in college, so I fully respect religion, and if there is a time in life that we need it, the time is right, but we want to make sure we keep people safe at the same time. And that’s the balance we’re trying to achieve.
Formerly the American epicenter, New York has recorded 620,000 cases of coronavirus since the start of the pandemic in March and 26,549 deaths.
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