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Coronavirus Updates: New York State Now Has More Than 1,500 Cases, Cuomo Says U.S. Army Corps Of Engineers Are Coming Wednesday
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Mar 17, 2020
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Governor Andrew Cuomo / Flickr
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Mar 17, 2020
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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Tuesday, March 17th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here. Our guide to preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.
Here are some related stories you might want to read (or listen to):
-Hospital workers in New York City say they are already seeing shortages of medical supplies.
-Monday night's bitter last call at New York City bars.
-The coronavirus crisis is hitting immigrants especially hard.
-The High Line has closed.
7:45 p.m. Speaking on MSNBC, Governor Cuomo said he was expecting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to arrive in New York on Wednesday.
Cuomo has asked President Trump for assistance to build out 9,000 new hospital beds to meet what is expected to be a surge of coronavirus patients in the next 45 days.
After initial uncertainty, the governor said his latest conversation with Trump was good.
"I told him we're not Democrats or Republicans," he said. "We’re Americans. And we’re going to have a real tragedy where people die because they couldn't get the right healthcare."
Speaking on Fox News, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he spoke to Cuomo on Tuesday. "I gave him my full commitment that we would get the Corps of Engineers up there soonest, to assess the problem and see how we can help out,” Esper said, according to the NY Post.
New York state now has more than 1,500 cases.
Cuomo once again dismissed Mayor de Blasio's statements about a possible shelter-in-place plan, saying that any new measure would have to be statewide, if not regional.
Pressed by MSNBC's Rachel Maddow as to why he would not consider a stronger measure to contain the spread of the virus, he said, "Then every business shuts down."
"To shut down every business in the state of New York is a very big deal," he added.
In the San Francisco Bay area, the shelter-in-place order requires businesses that do not provide “essential” services to send workers home.
Cuomo said the state's next response to the coronavirus pandemic would be to issue limits on the workforce capacity of businesses.
New York City Confirms First Positive Case Of COVID-19 In Homeless Shelters
7:00 p.m. An individual living in the New York City's homeless shelter system has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokesman for the city’s Department of Homeless Services.
It is the first reported case to date in the city's homeless shelter system, which is visited by roughly 63,000 people on any given night.
The person who tested positive is currently hospitalized. Eight other people who shared a room with the individual have been quarantined in a special location. The shelter, which was a dorm-style facility, has been cleaned and remains open. The Department of Homeless Services said it was monitoring the other inhabitants.
There are approximately 450 shelter locations citywide, around 200 of which are dorm-style.
Experts have said it might be harder to contain the spread of coronavirus in dorm-style shelters. For sites that house single adults, dorms have an average of 8 to 12 beds per room, but the number can go up to as many as 20.
The city has issued guidance to shelter providers, recommending additional cleaning as well as educating residents on how to protect themselves.
Reporting by Mirela Iverac
5:10 p.m. Speaking on NY1, Governor Cuomo shot down the idea of issuing a quarantine or any shelter-in-place measure for New York City.
"No one is going to tell you you're not going to be able to leave the city," he said. "That's not going to happen."
Earlier in the day, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was strongly considering a shelter-in-place order for New York City within the next 48 hours. He said that city officials were in discussions with the state, which must legally approve any shelter-in-place measure, according to Cuomo.
Calling into NY1, the governor made his unequivocal opposition to the plan known.
"There’s not going to be any quarantine," he said. Nor would be any "you must stay in your house rule."
Cuomo previously argued that any new restrictions would have to be statewide, if not regional. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have formed a tri-state partnership to battle the coronavirus. In an interview with NY1's Errol Lewis, the governor said there were now discussions to bring in Pennsylvania.
"It’s one state, they all have to be coordinated," he said, arguing that non-uniform policies would cause residents to relocate and risk spreading the virus to neighboring localities.
Cuomo said that looking ahead, he may ask businesses to further reduce their office workforces in an effort to reduce density.
De Blasio Says A Shelter-In-Place Order Could Come Within 48 Hours
3:00 p.m. Following up on remarks he made earlier, Mayor Bill de Blasio warned New Yorkers to prepare for a possible shelter-in-place rule that could come within the next 48 hours.
"This is a reality that is being talked about because this crisis continues to grow," de Blasio said. "Even though a decision hasn't been made by the city or state, New Yorkers should be prepared right now for the possibility of a shelter in place order."
The city now has 814 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 170 more cases that what the governor announced in the morning. With expanded testing capacity, the numbers have been climbing rapidly throughout the day. By Thursday, the city's public health labs should be able to perform 5,000 tests a day.
De Blasio did not specify what a stay-in-place order would look like in New York City, a city of 8.6 million people. Under the state of emergency, the mayor can establish curfews and order people off the streets and out of public spaces.
Earlier, Cuomo said that any new restrictions would need to be statewide, or possibly regional, to prevent individuals from trying to relocate themselves and risk further spreading the virus.
The mayor said he was not speaking for the governor but that a decision needed to be made very soon and that it would be made with the state. "Our teams are talking to get to a resolution," he said.
Melissa DeRosa, the secretary to the governor, issued the following statement: "The emergency policies that have been issued are of statewide impact, and the Governor is making every effort to coordinate these policies with our surrounding states. Any blanket quarantine or shelter in place policy would require State action and as the Governor has said, there is no consideration of that for any locality at this time."
On Tuesday, a shelter-in-place order went into effect in six counties in the San Francisco Bay area. Residents are now prohibited from leaving their home except for “essential” activities and travel.
To date, 12 people in the state have died from the virus. Of those, seven were New York City residents.
De Blasio said the city could have thousands of cases by next week.
He added: “It is not that long before we hit 10,000 cases, that is a true statement.”
The decision to weigh more restrictions to slow the spread comes as the city is racing to expand its hospital capacity and supply of medical equipment and food. The city currently has roughly 5,000 ventilators. Experts have projected that as the crisis peaks, the demand could be in the tens of thousands.
De Blasio said he has requested assistance from the federal government in the form of supplies as well as military personnel.
Jake Offenhartz contributed reporting.
Bronx City Council Member Says He Has Coronavirus
Councilmember Ritchie Torres, seen here at an event in March 2018, declared victory in the Democratic primary for the 15th Congressional District race, beating out 11 other challengers for the South Bronx seat.
New York City Council / Flickr
1:45 p.m. Bronx City Councilmember Richie Torres said he has tested positive for coronavirus, making him the first known city official to be infected.
Torres, 32, who is running for the congressional seat occupied by José Serrano, announced the news on Twitter.
He added that he will be under quarantine in his Bronx apartment for the next few weeks. His staff has also been quarantined.
"I'm the youngest member of the City Council," he later told Gothamist/WNYC. "I'm a Millennial. I'm proof that a young person with minimal symptoms could spread the disease without even knowing. And that's why social distancing is a matter of public necessity."
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson issued a statement saying that Torres had alerted the Council. "Everyone at the Council is praying for Ritchie’s speedy recovery," he said.
The City Council is working to find additional people outside his staff who have been in contact with Torres. Johnson said that there would be extra cleaning measures taken in City Hall this week.
The Bronx council member was last at City Hall on March 10th. The Council's offices at City Hall and 250 Broadway have been closed since Monday.
Torres had been among the City Council members who called on Mayor de Blasio to close the public school system. He later argued that bars and restaurants should be closed as well to stem the spread of the virus. The city closed the schools on Monday. As of Monday night, bars and restaurants can only provide take-out service.
He said he is in favor of a shelter-in-place rule.
"I'd rather they are on the side of overreacting," he said. "The data is clear: Either slow the spread of the virus through aggressive social distancing or else the sheer number of coronavirus cases will overwhelm the health care system. That's the stark choice that presents itself to the city."
Brigid Bergin contributed reporting.
Cuomo Says Virus Is Expected To Peak In New York In 45 Days
Governor Andrew Cuomo / Flickr
12:30 p.m. Public health experts are predicting that the spread of COVID-19 will peak in 45 days, an alarming forecast that would mean that the state could be short as many as 57,000 hospital beds.
As of Tuesday, there are now 1,300 confirmed cases of coronavirus across the state, a rise of 432 overnight.
In New York City, the number of recorded positive tests climbed to 644, an increase of 187. Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he expects the cases in the city to reach 1,000 by the end of the week.
Under the projections, which Governor Andrew Cuomo shared during a Tuesday press conference, the number of hospital beds needed could range between 55,000 to 110,000, while the demand for intensive care unit beds, intended to serve critically ill patients who require special equipment like ventilators, could be between 18,600 to 37,200.
Statewide there are currently 53,000 beds, only 3,000 of which are ICU beds.
The projections of hospital demand are based on data from China as well as other countries, which shows a hospitalization rate of between 15 to 19 percent.
Of the total cases to date in New York, 264 —or 19 percent—are hospitalized. As of Tuesday, 12 people have died from complications resulting from the disease.
Presenting the sobering analysis using his trademark Powerpoint presentation style, Cuomo used the numbers to explain the state's race against time to bring down the spread of the virus, while at the same time, dramatically raise the capacity of the healthcare system by building out new hospitals and finding ways to expand existing ones.
"This will go down in the history books as one of the moments of true crisis and chaos," he said.
Given the realities, more restrictions are likely to come, although Cuomo rejected the idea of localities like New York City imposing shelter-in-place orders or quarantines. Earlier this morning, de Blasio said he was "absolutely considering" a measure like the shelter-in-place rule that the San Francisco Bay area has ordered. Under the state of emergency declaration de Blasio signed on March 12th, his powers include shutting down transit, establishing curfews, and ordering people off the streets and out of public spaces.
Cuomo, however, argued that no such decree could be done without state approval.
"Whatever rules we come up with will be statewide rules, done with surrounding states," he said. In the absence of nationalized restrictions, the governor has urged uniformity not only within New York but also with surrounding states. On Monday, he along with the governors of New Jersey, and Connecticut agreed to coordinate their policies on the pandemic.
Cuomo announced one piece of reassuring news, which is that he had spoken to President Donald Trump as recently as Tuesday morning and that he was told that the federal government was now willing to help.
Over the last two days, Cuomo has been on an all-out media campaign, urging the president to bring in the Army Corps of Engineers to help the state build out at least 9,000 additional hospital beds across Long Island, Westchester and New York City.
As of Monday, the federal response was unclear. During a phone call, Trump told a group of governors to buy their own ventilators rather than rely on the government's emergency stock of supplies. Ventilators, which cost at least $20,000 apiece, have been scarce and nearly impossible to buy on the open market due to overwhelming global demand. The president later tweeted that Cuomo needed to "do more."
In addition to medical supplies, Cuomo has also requested the president to bring in the Army Corps of Engineers to help the state build out at least 9,000 additional hospital beds across Long Island, Westchester and New York City.
On Tuesday, Cuomo said he believed assistance was on the way. “His team has been on it," he said. "They've been doing everything that they can do."
He then thanked the president.
Tuesday's press conference represented one of the longer and more emotional ones the governor has given. Cuomo has, at times, alternated between sticking to the cold hard facts of the pandemic to doling out personal anecdotes about the toll on his own family. His decisive and bossy style amid the crisis has earned him rare praise from critics.
On Tuesday, he noted that one of his daughters has been in quarantine because she was exposed to someone who was infected.
"I haven't seen my daughter in over two weeks," he said. "It breaks my heart."
He acknowledged that the crisis was "a frightening time on every level."
But Cuomo also attempted to put the crisis in philosophical perspective by holding two fingers inches apart, representing the span of several months which the outbreak is expected to last.
"It's this much time," he said. "We will get through this much time."
De Blasio Is "Absolutely Considering" A Shelter-In-Place Order
10:10 a.m. On the heels of the San Francisco Bay Area issuing a "shelter-in-place" order, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he is "absolutely considering" such a measure in New York City.
"All of that is on the table," he told WPIX 11 on Tuesday morning. "We’ll make those decisions over the coming days."
San Francisco's order directs people to stay as much as possible, except for running essential errands like food shopping, picking up prescriptions at a pharmacy, buying gas, going to the bank or checking up on relatives.
On Monday, de Blasio advised New Yorkers to stay home as much as they could, hinting that mandatory restrictions may come.
"I don't want to suggest we're at the point of saying literally no one can go outside," he said during a press conference at City Hall. "We may say that very, very soon. I think we're saying, avoid anything unnecessary."
In the San Francisco Bay area, officials said the measure was to slow the spread so as to prevent the hospitals from becoming overrun—a very real possibility in New York City, according to experts.
Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio have warned about a possible shortage of hospital beds and medical equipment and have pleaded with the federal government to step in and help. A 2015 report resurfaced by the NY Times today projected that the city could be short by "as many as 15,783 ventilators a week at the peak of" of a flu-like pandemic.
The city is currently seeking to carve out an additional 8,200 beds in public and private hospitals across the five boroughs.
De Blasio Urges Federal Government To Send Checks To Those Hurt By Crisis
Adding to a growing chorus of economists and elected officials, Mayor Bill de Blasio said the federal government needs to distribute direct stimulus checks to those affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
"People can't pay their rent or buy food," the mayor said, during an appearance on WPIX 11 Tuesday morning. He likened the severity of the crisis to that of the Great Depression.
The idea of direct stimulus payments is not new. It was implemented during the 2008 recession and is now being floated by economists and within Congress. On Monday, Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney called on the government to hand out $1,000 cash payments to every American adult.
The U.S. Congress has already approved $8.3 billion in emergency spending for public health programs, and the Senate is expected to deliberate on a House plan that includes paid sick leave, unemployment insurance, and food stamp funding. On Tuesday morning, several news outlets reported that the Trump administration will ask Congress to approve an additional $850 billion towards helping the ravaged economy.
“People want to work, we’re telling them they can’t. It’s not safe to work,” de Blasio said. “But the cost of living doesn’t go away.”
As of Monday, New York City had 463 confirmed cases of coronavirus.
But on Tuesday morning, de Blasio said the city was now on pace to reach 1,000 confirmed cases by the end of this week.
The closures of Broadway, entertainment venues, cultural institutions, bars and the limitation of restaurants to take-out only is expected to inflict great economic pain on a large cross-section of workers. The city is providing no-interest loans and cash grants to small businesses, in part to help them retain employment, but the pandemic is expected to last through the summer.
Experts have said that the damage could be worse than the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001 or the 2008 financial crisis.
In a recent New York Times story, James Parrott, an economist at The New School, estimated that the city is likely to lose as many as 500,000 jobs. In one month, the lost wages add up to $1 billion, he estimated.
Meanwhile, Scott Stringer, the New York City Comptroller, estimated that the city could lose $3.2 billion in lost tax revenues over the next six months and urged the local government to immediately identify more than $1 billion in potential savings.
Amid the upheaval in the lives of many New Yorkers, de Blasio urged landlords to be lenient with rents and allow tenants to stay in their homes. The city is suspending evictions in public housing along with city-owned affordable housing units.
"A lot of people are not going to be able to pay the rent," he said. "We can settle up after the crisis is over."
Tagged
covid-19 updates
coronavirus
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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