New York state will order all its schools and nonessential businesses to remain closed until April 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a briefing Monday. 

The announcement extends the governor’s previous social distancing order by nine days. 

The novel coronavirus causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that has infected over 1.2 million people and killed at least 70,798 worldwide. New York state has confirmed 130,689 cases of the virus, and 4,758 people have died, Cuomo said. 

Though New York state reported nearly 600 deaths related to COVID-19 between Sunday and Monday—the state’s second-highest one-day death toll—Cuomo said there are signs the virus may be close to reaching its peak. 

As of Monday, 16,837 people were hospitalized due to the virus, up by just 2% from Sunday. It is the third straight day of single-digit percentage growth, after hospitalizations had been growing by more than 20% each day.

The trends suggest the spread of the virus could be slowing, but the state is still experiencing an emergency, he said. 

“If we are plateauing, we are plateauing at a very high level and there is tremendous stress on the health care system,” Cuomo said. Medical services are strained, but hospitals are receiving the supplies they need, he said. 

“Have we saved everyone? No. But have we lost anyone because we didn’t have a bed or we didn’t have a ventilator, or we didn’t have health care staff? No,” Cuomo said. 

Cuomo will call President Donald Trump on Monday to ask that the 1,000-bed U.S.N.S. Comfort, a navy hospital ship docked in New York Harbor, be used to treat patients with COVID-19. The ship was originally sent to the state to relieve pressure on New York City hospitals by treating people with illnesses or injuries other than the COVID-19.

The additional beds will allow the state to continue aggressively combatting the virus, especially in New York City, Cuomo said. 

The governor said he had not heard about reports that the city was developing contingency plans to temporarily use public parks to bury patients who have died of COVID-19. Mark Levine, chairman of the City Council’s health committee, had said in a tweet earlier Monday that plans to utilize parks as mass graves would be implemented only if the city’s death rate continues to climb.

Cuomo also called on local governments to more aggressively enforce social distancing guidelines, and asked residents to resist the urge to go outside and congregate. The state will increase the fine for violating social distancing guidelines from $500 to $1000, he said.

Not taking social distancing seriously is “wholly unacceptable,” Cuomo said. All gatherings, including religious ceremonies, funerals and burials, are prohibited, he said. 

“No one has the right to be reckless in our own behavior,” Cuomo said. “Now is not the time to be playing frisbee in the park. Now is not the time to be going to a funeral with 200 people. Yes, I understand grieving, I understand religious services can help with the grieving process, I understand it’s hard not to do that, but as a society, the risk is too great.”

New York state will also update its unemployment website with a new interface mid-week, a state official said at the briefing. More than 450,000 New Yorkers tried to apply for unemployment benefits in March, but many have faced difficulty and delays. 

The state has added 300 employees to handle the influx of benefits requests, the official said. Everyone who has applied for benefits will receive them dating back to the day they filed their claims regardless of the date their claim gets processed and approved, she said. 

Cuomo said he understands the frustration, but asks that people be patient as the state’s employees manage an unprecedented crisis. He called on New Yorkers to be “New York tough”—compassionate, unified, loving and smart. 

“We have been behind on this virus since day one,” Cuomo said. “Now is not the time to slack off on what we’re doing.” 

Published on April 6, 2020 at 2:31 pm

Contact Michael: msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3