China And Oregon Send Ventilators To New York, As Statewide Coronavirus Cases Surpass 113,000

Topline: Governor Andrew Cuomo in a press conference on Friday thanked both China and the state of Oregon for sending New York more ventilators, with the total number of confirmed cases in his state now surging to 113,704.

• The global epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, New York has a total of 102,863 confirmed cases as of Saturday, with another 10,841 reported overnight. Over 63,000 cases are concentrated in New York City alone.
• The state’s death toll continues to rise: 630 new casualties were reported on Saturday, the biggest single-day increase yet. The amount of lives lost in New York now amount to 3,565—making up almost half of all deaths in the U.S. so far.
• Despite the number of coronavirus cases continuing to rise unabated in the state, the New York governor had some relatively good news on Saturday: Around 66% of hospitalized patients have been discharged, an increase from earlier this week.
• Secondly, Cuomo announced that China had donated 1,000 ventilators to New York, slated to arrive in JFK airport later today—he thanked Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, as well as Chinese Consul General for New York Huang Ping, for their efforts.
• He also announced that Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown, sent New York an unsolicited 140 ventilators from her state. “It was a kind gesture,” Cuomo said, adding that it is also smart from Oregon’s point of view: “The bottom line here is that we’re all in this together.”
• “We will return [that generosity’ double fold, because that’s who we are and what we believe,” the New York governor pledged, as he thanked Governor Brown and the state of Oregon for their help.

Crucial quote: “We need help from other states, help from the federal government,” Cuomo again urged. He has repeatedly called for more aid to New York, promising that his state will then return the favor and help other states as they hit their apexes at later times.

What to watch for: Cuomo again mentioned that he was concerned about a recent surge in cases on Long Island—in Nassau and Suffolk counties, which have both been hit with thousands of new cases in the last few days. Long Island has jumped from 17% to 22% of total coronavirus hospitalizations in the state, Cuomo said on Saturday. “We’ve been saying for the past few days, watch Long Island, because it’s like a fire spreading… you see that number growing.”

Tangent: Cuomo also signed a new executive order on Saturday, to allow medical students who were slated to graduate to begin practicing: “We need doctors, we need nurses, so we’re going to expedite that,” he said.

Further reading: Cuomo: New York Daily Coronavirus Deaths Near 600