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Cuomo: Infection Rate Faster Than Expected; Says He Will Not Sacrifice Lives For Economy

John Minchillo
/
Associated Press
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at the site of a temporary hospital at the Javits Center in New York.

New York has failed to “flatten the curve” when it comes to the spread of the coronavirus, and Governor Andrew Cuomo says he will not sacrifice any lives for the sake of the economy. 

 

Governor Andrew Cuomo says the COVID-19 infection rate is doubling about every three days. Experts now say the number of cases will peak in early April, and the state needs 40,000 ventilators to prepare.  

Health officials will study a workaround that could allow a single ventilator to treat multiple patients, but Cuomo says he’s out of options.

“I need the ventilators in 14 days. Only the federal government has that power. And not to exercise that power is inexplicable to me.”

He wants the federal government to send stockpiled ventilators to New York, and to order private companies to make more. 

Cuomo says even though the economy is in trouble, the top priority must be to save lives. 

Read the latest on WSHU’s coronavirus coverage here.

 

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Desiree reports on the lives of military service members, veterans, and their families for WSHU as part of the American Homefront project. Born and raised in Connecticut, she now calls Long Island home.