Will New York close again? No one can answer that today, Cuomo says

Albany, NY – After warning earlier this week that New York is heading for another shutdown if the current Covid trajectory doesn’t change, Governor Andrew Cuomo sounded more optimistic today.

While no one can say for sure whether the state will close again, Cuomo said he believes New Yorkers will act to make sure it doesn’t.

“It’s completely under our control,” he said at a news conference in Albany. “A shutdown can be completely avoided.

New Yorkers get it. They see the numbers. New Yorkers are smart. I think they will learn from Thanksgiving. I think you’ll see a smarter response during the holiday season. “

New York confirmed 12,697 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, a record high. But the state also conducted the highest number of tests ever yesterday: 249,385.

Standstills like the one in New York in the spring are harmful to businesses, employees, children and everyone’s mental health, Cuomo said. Nobody wants another.

The danger remains overwhelming the hospital system with coronavirus patients. Cuomo has said he will require the closure of all non-essential businesses in any area where the seven-day average of hospital admissions growth shows the region would reach 90% of its hospital capacity within three weeks.

But on Thursday, hospital admissions, the number of people in intensive care units and the number of intubated people fell. All three figures have been rising steadily for months, sometimes sharply.

“Those are good signs,” said Cuomo. “What does it mean? We’ll see if it goes on tomorrow.”

Cuomo also said he believes the state hospitals can deal with what’s to come. The state has ordered provisions to take preparatory measures, including increasing the number of beds and standing by to transfer patients to other locations if necessary.

Hospitals should notify the Department of Health if they believe they will reach 85% of their maximum capacity within three weeks. So far, there are no hospitals, Cuomo said.

“I think hospitals can save this,” he said. “We learned a lot in the spring.

‘We’ve been through this before. We’ve done this before. And I believe we can do it again. “

Hospital admissions for the virus in New York fell on Thursday 66 to 6,081. In total, there were 1,068 people in intensive care, down from 27, and 592 were intubated, down from 19.

Another 120 people in the state died as a result of the virus on Thursday. The statewide death toll is now 28,342.

Hospitals in downtown New York are now 73% full, based on a seven-day average, according to Cuomo’s office. That figure has been improving in recent days. At one point it was even 77%.

Cuomo has said that if projections show that an area is in danger of reaching 90% within three weeks, he will order all non-essential businesses to shut down.

The percentage of people who tested positive for the virus statewide yesterday was 5.09%, up from 5.38% the day before. The seven-day average of the statewide positive rate was 5.25% yesterday, up from 5.24% the day before.

The seven-day average of the positive rate in Central New York was 6.89% Thursday. That’s a drop from more than 7% earlier this week.

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Full coverage of the coronavirus at syracuse.com

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