1,871 people in New York City have tested positive for the new coronavirus and 11 people have died, Mayor de Blasio told NY1 early Wednesday evening, more than double from the day before.

Speaking around 10 p.m. Tuesday night, the mayor said 923 cases were confirmed in the city, with 10 deaths.

The increases in confirmed cases have soared in the past week. Seven days ago, there were 216 cases in New York state in total. A week before that: just 11.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 2,382 confirmed coronavirus cases in New York state, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced before de Blasio gave updated totals from New York City. At least 20 people across the state have died from the virus.

The statewide hospitalization rate is around 23 percent. Cuomo said 108 patients have been treated for coronavirus and discharged from New York hospitals.

The details of the cases are not confirmed, but de Blasio said Sunday that all the victims in the city — five at that point — had pre-existing conditions. The elderly and those with pre-existing conditions are those most at risk.

In an exclusive interview on NY1, de Blasio alled the dramatic increase sobering. Just a week ago there were only 48 confirmed cases.

“And to be clear to people, a lot more testing is happening, a lot more quickly,” the mayor said. “So certainly we are seeing the numbers move fast because of that, but it’s also sobering.”

The mayor reiterated that there was no cluster in the five boroughs at the moment.

The number of cases are expected to only increase exponentially — the mayor himself predicted the city would reach 10,000 cases soon — over the coming weeks and months. At a press briefing Saturday, New York City Commissioner Dr. Oxiris Barbot said the city's "best estimate" for the end of the coronavirus crisis at this time was "some time in September."

The mayor appeared to be pushing for a shelter-in-place policy — something Cuomo has rejected. De Blasio referenced San Francisco as a model — which locked down on Tuesday. That city prohibits residents from leaving their homes except for essentials like groceries or medicine.

Cuomo has said no city would be allowed to implement such a policy unless he approved it. As of Wednesday, he seemed unlikely to do so.

Calling into NY1 on Tuesday evening, Cuomo reiterated that New York will not be quarantined and no one would tell New Yorkers they cannot leave their homes:

 

 

 

Cuomo said a shelter-in-place policy would not work in part because it would need to be regional.

"If New York City says, ‘Well, you can't come out of your house,’ all that will do is cause the people of New York City to go stay with their cousin in Westchester,” the governor said.

The mayor said he spoke to the governor Wednesday afternoon. 

“When I say shelter in place, I am talking about the San Francisco model. It actually exists right now in this country, and from what I am seeing it is working,” the mayor said. “The governor and I spoke an hour ago. It was a very good conversation. We are going to be continuing the conversation over the next 24 hours. Look, the governor understandably is trying to think about the entire state and the impact on the whole state. We are talking that through.”

The mayor said it was important to make decisions as soon as possible. 

In response to the aid, approved by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, that could send New York City more than a billion dollars, the mayor said what the city really needs is to get money into the pockets of New Yorkers — something as large as the New Deal after the Great Depression.

 

 

 

As for the immediate fight against the virus, the mayor said 1,000 more people have joined the city’s Medical Reserve Corps in less than 24 hours. The corps is a group of retirees who have left the medical field but are available for on call medical services.

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