NEW YORK - The 1,000 hospital bed Navy ship USNS Comfort docked on Manhattan's west side Monday morning. as the number of coronavirus-related deaths in the city passes 900.

MORE THAN 1,200 DEATHS IN NEW YORK STATE

Citywide, as of 4:30 pm. Monday, there were 38,087 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 914 deaths.

The borough-by-borough breakdown:

  • Queens: 12,756 confirmed cases
  • Brooklyn: 10,171
  • The Bronx: 6,925
  • Manhattan: 6,060
  • Staten Island: 2,140
  • Unknown: 35

Monday morning, the state reported 66,497 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 1,218 deaths in New York state. That number was reported before the city’s total increased to 38,087.

A week ago, New York City's confirmed case total was 12,339. A week before that: 463.

The numbers of cases are expected to only increase exponentially over the coming weeks and months as more tests are conducted.

In New York state, as of Monday morning, 9,517 people have been hospitalized and 2,352 were in intensive care. More than 4,000 patients have been discharged.

The state’s death toll was under 1,000 a day earlier. Asked if he thought it could reach into the tens of thousands, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 1,200 is already a “staggering figure.”

WELCOMING A FLOATING HOSPITAL

De Blasio was there to welcome the USNS Comfort to New York City on Monday, ahead of schedule.

"We can do the life-saving work right now," the mayor said.

The USNS Comfort is expected to start seeing patients Tuesday. The city says there will be a screening process in place to determine what patients end up in the massive Navy hospital.

Coronavirus patients will stay in the city’s traditional hospitals. The ship is supposed to act like a relief valve, caring for the typical patients our hospitals saw before the virus hit the city.
 


The Comfort is equipped with 12 operating rooms, ICU beds, radiology suites, a CAT scanner, and a pharmacy. About 1,100 medical staff are expected to be on board, mostly active duty service members.
 


The ship docked at Pier 90 along the West Side Highway.

While welcoming the Comfort, the mayor said the city would work to convert much of the 20,000 traditional hospital beds the city already has into intensive care units designed to care for patients with COVID-19.

While the Comfort adds 750 beds to the city’s supply, there is a long way to go. The mayor wants to triple hospital capacity to 60,000 beds by May.

CUOMO ASKS FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS FROM OUTSIDE NEW YORK

Speaking to reporters Monday, Cuomo reiterated the importance of New Yorkers staying home. He said the doubling of hospitalizations is now down to six days. Cuomo added that the discharge rate of hospitalizations has held steady.

"First, the public has to be responsible. Stay at home. Mission two — and this is going to be more and more clear as we go on — the frontline battle is in the health care system," Cuomo said.

In remarks at the Javits Center, which has also been transformed into a temporary hospital, Cuomo said health care workers are on the frontlines of this war, and he appealed for more workers to come to the state’s aid.

“As governor of New York, I am asking health care professionals across the country: if you don't have a health acre crisis in your community, we need your help now. We need relief, we need relief for nurses who are working twelve-hour shifts, one after the other after the other,” the governor said.

While health care workers have repeatedly said they don’t always have the protective equipment needed to treat patients with the virus, President Donald Trump cast doubt on that Sunday, questioning why New York hospitals are burning through equipment so quickly.
   
“Something's going on. And you ought to look into it as reporters. Where are the masks going? Are they going out the back door? I would like them to check that because I hear stories like that all the time. We're delivering millions and millions of different products and all we do is hear, 'Can we get some more?'" Trump said.

Cuomo said he was as baffled by the remarks about Personal Protective Equipment, also know as PPE.

“In terms of the suggestion that the PPE equipment is not going to the correct place, I don't know what that means. I don't know what he's trying to say. If he wants to make an accusation, then let him make an accusation,” Cuomo said.
 


BUDGET CONCERNS

Raising another red flag, the mayor said he had serious concerns about budget negotiations occurring in Albany. The state budget is due on Wednesday.

Before coronavirus, Cuomo had demanded that municipalities like New York City pay far more for their own Medicaid costs. At the time, it was predicted the demand would cost the city about $1 billion.

Cuomo's plan to redesign Medicaid could also put federal funding from the coronavirus stimulus legislation for New York in jeopardy.

The mayor said this was not the time to debate the  proposal.

"We cannot afford Medicaid cuts, health care cuts at this dire moment,” the mayor said. “The state must accept the Medicaid funding that was in the third stimulus bill. We need that money to be accepted, and we need to make sure that the health care so many people are depending on is not disrupted."

Also on Monday, the mayor entertained the idea of allowing renters to use their security deposits to cover the cost of their April rent. He said it was something he was discussing with state lawmakers.

And even though neighboring cities have shuttered parks and playgrounds, that’s not something the mayor is ready to do. He said in a city of 8.6 million people, people have to be allowed to get fresh air.

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