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1,200 Dead in N.Y. and Cuomo Says Worst Is Still to Come: Live Updates 1,200 Dead in N.Y. and Cuomo Says Worst Is Still to Come: Live Updates
(32 minutes later)
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, briefing reporters on Monday, said that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak was yet to come, even as another 253 people died in the state in a 24-hour period.Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, briefing reporters on Monday, said that the worst of the coronavirus outbreak was yet to come, even as another 253 people died in the state in a 24-hour period.
“If you wait to prepare for a storm to hit, it is too late,” the governor said. “You have to prepare before the storm hits. And in this case the storm is when you hit that high point, when you hit that apex. How do you know when you’re going to get there? You don’t.”“If you wait to prepare for a storm to hit, it is too late,” the governor said. “You have to prepare before the storm hits. And in this case the storm is when you hit that high point, when you hit that apex. How do you know when you’re going to get there? You don’t.”
The governor spoke at the Javits Center, a convention hall in Manhattan that was quickly turned into a 1,000-bed emergency hospital. His remarks came shortly after a Navy hospital arrived in the city. The governor spoke at the Javits Center, a convention hall in Manhattan that was quickly turned into a 1,000-bed emergency hospital. His remarks came shortly after a Navy hospital ship arrived in the city.
The setting for Mr. Cuomo’s briefing underscored New York’s urgent efforts to prepare its health care system for the wave of sick people that is expected to overwhelm hospitals in just a few weeks. The setting for Mr. Cuomo’s briefing underscored New York’s urgent efforts to prepare its health care system for the wave of sick people that is expected to further overwhelm hospitals in just a few weeks.
Here are other developments from Monday:Here are other developments from Monday:
New York reported almost 7,000 new cases of the virus, bringing the total to nearly 66,500. Most of the cases are in New York City, where 36,221 people have tested positive, the city says.New York reported almost 7,000 new cases of the virus, bringing the total to nearly 66,500. Most of the cases are in New York City, where 36,221 people have tested positive, the city says.
Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey announced 3,347 new positive coronavirus cases in the state, bringing the total to 16,636. There were 37 new deaths, for a total of 198.Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey announced 3,347 new positive coronavirus cases in the state, bringing the total to 16,636. There were 37 new deaths, for a total of 198.
Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut announced 578 new coronavirus cases in the state, bringing the total to 2,571. There were two new deaths, for a total of 36 in the state.Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut announced 578 new coronavirus cases in the state, bringing the total to 2,571. There were two new deaths, for a total of 36 in the state.
In New York, the number of people hospitalized was 9,517, up 12 percent from yesterday. Of those, 2,352 are in ventilator-equipped intensive care rooms.In New York, the number of people hospitalized was 9,517, up 12 percent from yesterday. Of those, 2,352 are in ventilator-equipped intensive care rooms.
In a hopeful note, Mr. Cuomo said that while the number of hospitalizations continues to grow, the rate which it is growing was tapering off. “We had a doubling of cases every two days, then a doubling every three days and a doubling every four days, then every five,” Mr. Cuomo said. “We now have a doubling of cases every six days. So while the overall number is going up, the rate of doubling is actually down.”In a hopeful note, Mr. Cuomo said that while the number of hospitalizations continues to grow, the rate which it is growing was tapering off. “We had a doubling of cases every two days, then a doubling every three days and a doubling every four days, then every five,” Mr. Cuomo said. “We now have a doubling of cases every six days. So while the overall number is going up, the rate of doubling is actually down.”
More than 4,200 people have been discharged from hospitals.More than 4,200 people have been discharged from hospitals.
New York has tested more than 186,000 people in March, about one percent of the state’s population. But while New York’s testing capacity far outpaces that of other states, it has not reached the critical-mass level public health experts say is necessary to more precisely identify the spread of the virus.New York has tested more than 186,000 people in March, about one percent of the state’s population. But while New York’s testing capacity far outpaces that of other states, it has not reached the critical-mass level public health experts say is necessary to more precisely identify the spread of the virus.
A Brooklyn man was charged on Monday with lying to the federal authorities about selling N95 masks and other medical supplies to doctors at exorbitant prices and with assaulting a federal officer after he told F.B.I. agents he had the coronavirus after coughing on them, prosecutors said.
The man, Baruch Feldheim, 43, was charged with making false statements to law enforcement officers after he lied about stockpiling and selling equipment that is desperately needed by hospitals as they confront a surge in virus patients, the authorities said.
Mr. Feldheim repeatedly sold the equipment at a markup, according to a criminal complaint filed against him in Federal District Court in Newark.
On one occasion, in a transaction arranged via a WhatsApp group named “Virus2020!,” Mr. Feldheim agreed to sell a doctor about 1,000 N95 masks and other gear for $12,000, according to the complaint. That was about 700 percent above what the doctor, who was not identified, would typically pay, the complaint says.
When he met with Mr. Feldheim at an auto repair shop in Irvington, N.J., on March 18, the doctor saw enough including hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes and medical supplies to “outfit an entire hospital,” the complaint says.
F.B.I. agents went to Mr. Feldheim’s home on Sunday to get more information, the complaint says. At that point, the complaint says, he “intentionally coughed in their direction without covering his mouth,” even though the agents had said they were keeping their distance out of concern over the virus. He told the agents that he had tested positive for the virus two weeks earlier, the complaint says.
Last week, a top Justice Department official warned federal prosecutors to be on the lookout for threats to spread the virus, and said that such acts could potentially be prosecuted under federal terrorism laws because the virus was considered a “biological agent.”
Mr. Feldheim was not charged under federal terrorism laws. A spokesman for the United States Attorney’s office in Newark declined to comment on whether he might be.
At least two other people in New Jersey have been charged in state cases for threatening to spread the virus, state officials said. One of them, a man who intentionally coughed near a supermarket employee and told her he was infected, was charged with making a terroristic threat.
One inmate used an alcohol pad that a barber had given him after a haircut to sanitize a frequently used Rikers Island jailhouse phone. Another used a sock to hold a phone. A third said he and others have used diluted shampoo to disinfect cell bars and table tops.One inmate used an alcohol pad that a barber had given him after a haircut to sanitize a frequently used Rikers Island jailhouse phone. Another used a sock to hold a phone. A third said he and others have used diluted shampoo to disinfect cell bars and table tops.
In the nearly two weeks since the coronavirus seeped into New York City’s jail system, fears have grown of the potential of a public health catastrophe in the cellblocks where thousands are being held in close quarters.In the nearly two weeks since the coronavirus seeped into New York City’s jail system, fears have grown of the potential of a public health catastrophe in the cellblocks where thousands are being held in close quarters.
Public officials have been working to release hundreds of people in jail, but while that effort is moving forward, law enforcement officials concerned about public safety have urged caution.Public officials have been working to release hundreds of people in jail, but while that effort is moving forward, law enforcement officials concerned about public safety have urged caution.
Inside the jails, inmates, including some waiting to be released, have been struggling to protect themselves from the virus.Inside the jails, inmates, including some waiting to be released, have been struggling to protect themselves from the virus.
“You’re on top of one another no matter what you do,” said one man who was recently released from Rikers Island. “There’s no ventilation. If anything is floating, everybody gets it.”“You’re on top of one another no matter what you do,” said one man who was recently released from Rikers Island. “There’s no ventilation. If anything is floating, everybody gets it.”
As public officials across the country scramble to release their own vulnerable populations in jails and prisons as a result of the coronavirus, New York’s complex on Rikers Island has provided a case study in the difficulty of balancing public safety and public health concerns.As public officials across the country scramble to release their own vulnerable populations in jails and prisons as a result of the coronavirus, New York’s complex on Rikers Island has provided a case study in the difficulty of balancing public safety and public health concerns.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday that about 650 people had been released. Still, the rate of infection has continued to climb, and by Monday, 167 inmates, 114 correction staff and 20 health workers had tested positive and two correction staff members had died.In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday that about 650 people had been released. Still, the rate of infection has continued to climb, and by Monday, 167 inmates, 114 correction staff and 20 health workers had tested positive and two correction staff members had died.
For the past few weeks, Dr. David Perlstein has been scrambling to find more beds and ventilators, knowing that the coronavirus outbreak, which has filled his Bronx hospital with more than 100 patients, will undoubtedly get much worse.For the past few weeks, Dr. David Perlstein has been scrambling to find more beds and ventilators, knowing that the coronavirus outbreak, which has filled his Bronx hospital with more than 100 patients, will undoubtedly get much worse.
Then a week ago, Dr. Perlstein, the chief executive officer of St. Barnabas Hospital, was given some disturbing news by a state senator: His hospital could soon lose millions of dollars in government funding.Then a week ago, Dr. Perlstein, the chief executive officer of St. Barnabas Hospital, was given some disturbing news by a state senator: His hospital could soon lose millions of dollars in government funding.
The funding cut was proposed by a panel that Mr. Cuomo convened this year, before the virus had reached the United States, to rein in the state’s growing Medicaid program by identifying $2.5 billion in savings.The funding cut was proposed by a panel that Mr. Cuomo convened this year, before the virus had reached the United States, to rein in the state’s growing Medicaid program by identifying $2.5 billion in savings.
But the timing of the proposals, which were released in mid-March and include about $400 million in cuts to hospitals, was a blow to the morale of many hospitals and medical workers on the front lines of the fight against a ruthless virus that has infected tens of thousands in New York.But the timing of the proposals, which were released in mid-March and include about $400 million in cuts to hospitals, was a blow to the morale of many hospitals and medical workers on the front lines of the fight against a ruthless virus that has infected tens of thousands in New York.
“It’s a shot in the gut,” Dr. Perlstein said. “During a time I need to commit all the energy I have to really save lives and expand access and not skimp on resources, now I have to worry about how we’re going to continue to pay our bills.”“It’s a shot in the gut,” Dr. Perlstein said. “During a time I need to commit all the energy I have to really save lives and expand access and not skimp on resources, now I have to worry about how we’re going to continue to pay our bills.”
A Navy hospital ship that docked in Manhattan this morning is expected to provide relief to the city’s overwhelmed hospitals by freeing up beds to be used for coronavirus patients.
The 1,000-bed ship, the Comfort, with 12 operating rooms, a medical laboratory and more than 1,000 Navy officers, arrived at Pier 90 off West 50th Street in Manhattan just before 11 a.m., and Mayor Bill de Blasio said that 750 of its beds will be put to use “immediately.”
The Comfort will treat patients who do not have the virus. The city’s hospitals are now so full that paramedics in the field are being forced to make on-the-spot judgments about who gets to go to the hospital and who is left behind, perhaps to die.
Along the Hudson River, people gathered in bunches to watch the ship arrive — in apparent violation of social distancing rules.
The Comfort, a converted supertanker, was used as a floating base for rescue workers in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
In sending the ship, Navy officials acknowledged that they had taken a risk. They insist that they are doing everything short of Saran-wrapping the vessel to try to keep it virus-free,
“We will establish a bubble around this ship to make sure we’re doing everything to keep it out,” said Capt. Joseph O’Brien, commodore of the military’s Task Force New York City.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Monday that five more transit workers, including a bus operator based in Brooklyn and a station cleaner based in the Bronx, had died of the coronavirus.
The new fatalities brought to seven the death toll for the authority, which oversees New York City’s subway and buses and two commuter railroads.
The dead include Scott Elijah, a track worker based in Queens; Caridad Santiago, the cleaner in the Bronx; Ernesto Hernandez, a bus operator who worked out of the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in Sunset Park; Victor Zapana, a supervisor in the agency’s stations department; and Warren Tucker, a bus mechanic assigned to Brooklyn.
“Scott, Caridad, Ernesto, Victor and Warren were all inspiring and valued colleagues, well-loved and well-respected by their co-workers,” the agency sad in a statement. “They dedicated their lives to serving the public and keeping New Yorkers moving.”
Last week, the M.T.A. announced that two other workers, a subway conductor and a bus operator, had died of the virus. At least another 152 employees had tested positive and 1,181 were quarantined, officials said. The authority’s chairman, Patrick J. Foye, tested positive for the virus on Saturday.
Tony Utano, the president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents transit workers, called the deaths “another gut punch to our union.”
A New York Fire Department auto mechanic also died on Sunday after becoming infected with the coronavirus, the first death of an active department employee, a spokesman said.
The mechanic, James Villecco, 55, of Staten Island, joined the department’s Bureau of Fleet Services in 2014 and went on to work in the ambulance repair shop at a different shop.⁣⁣
“James Villecco was one of those truly unsung heroes in our department whose outstanding work provided medical care for the people of our city,” Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro said in a statement. “The entire department mourns his loss”
Last week, a large order from a Twitter follower in Maryland gave the Harlem restaurant FieldTrip a crucial shot of revenue and, perhaps, a glimpse of a way to stay in business during the coronavirus pandemic.Last week, a large order from a Twitter follower in Maryland gave the Harlem restaurant FieldTrip a crucial shot of revenue and, perhaps, a glimpse of a way to stay in business during the coronavirus pandemic.
FieldTrip’s chef and owner, JJ Johnson, had taken to Twitter on Wednesday to say he had just packed and sent 40 rice bowls, his restaurant’s specialty, to the staff at Harlem Hospital Center. One of New York City’s official coronavirus testing sites, the hospital has been flooded, like so many others in the area, by new and suspected cases.FieldTrip’s chef and owner, JJ Johnson, had taken to Twitter on Wednesday to say he had just packed and sent 40 rice bowls, his restaurant’s specialty, to the staff at Harlem Hospital Center. One of New York City’s official coronavirus testing sites, the hospital has been flooded, like so many others in the area, by new and suspected cases.
A few minutes later, the fan in Maryland bought 170 more bowls; Mr. Johnson sent half to Harlem the next day and half to Mount Sinai Hospital on Friday. The order kept FieldTrip busy enough that Mr. Johnson called two of his employees back to join the three others he had brought in earlier in the week as takeout and delivery business began to pick up.A few minutes later, the fan in Maryland bought 170 more bowls; Mr. Johnson sent half to Harlem the next day and half to Mount Sinai Hospital on Friday. The order kept FieldTrip busy enough that Mr. Johnson called two of his employees back to join the three others he had brought in earlier in the week as takeout and delivery business began to pick up.
What has happened at Fieldtrip is playing out at restaurants and hospitals around the country. Delivery orders for health care workers have begun coming in, ranging in ambition from bags of sandwiches paid for by small pledges on GoFundMe pages to multicourse meals subsidized by the philanthropic arms of major companies.What has happened at Fieldtrip is playing out at restaurants and hospitals around the country. Delivery orders for health care workers have begun coming in, ranging in ambition from bags of sandwiches paid for by small pledges on GoFundMe pages to multicourse meals subsidized by the philanthropic arms of major companies.
Reporting was contributed by Jonah Engel Bromwich, Helene Cooper, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Michael Gold, Jesse McKinley, Andy Newman, Sam Roberts, Matt Stevens, Tracey Tully and Pete Wells.Reporting was contributed by Jonah Engel Bromwich, Helene Cooper, Luis Ferré-Sadurní, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, Michael Gold, Jesse McKinley, Andy Newman, Sam Roberts, Matt Stevens, Tracey Tully and Pete Wells.