N.Y. Sees Third Day of Below-Peak Infections; Death Toll Jumps

(Bloomberg) -- New York’s rate of new coronavirus infections tapered for a third straight day, stoking optimism that the outbreak may finally be approaching a peak in the hardest-hit state.

Even as new confirmed cases and new hospitalizations seemed to level off, however, New York had its most deadly day of the pandemic so far with 731 new fatalities. Almost 5,500 people have died from the outbreak in the state to date, accounting for about half of all Covid-19 deaths in the U.S.

Deaths are a trailing indicator for the virus outbreak. Governor Andrew Cuomo said he looked at three-day averages for new hospitalizations and demand for intensive-care beds for signs of whether the infection curve is flattening.

“We are changing the curve in that virus growth,” Cuomo said Tuesday at his daily news briefing. “So social distancing is working. That’s because of what we are doing. If we don’t do what we are doing, that’s a very different curve.”

New York recorded 8,147 new coronavirus infections, the third consecutive day below the high-water mark of almost 11,000 hit last Friday and down from the roughly 8,700 announced Monday. The 656 hospital admissions, while up from the day before, remained well below the peak set last week. Prior to Saturday, New York had endured seven straight days of 1,000-plus patient admissions.

Intensive-care admissions, which had been running at more than 300 patients a day, fell to 89, the lowest level since March 20.

A similar pattern is emerging in New Jersey, the No. 2 state for coronavirus infections. Officials there reported a record jump in fatalities on Tuesday, adding 232 for a total of more than 1,200. The infection rate in the state is declining, though.

In New York’s hospitals, officials have been able to sufficiently expand capacity so that everyone who needs treatment can get it, Cuomo said, despite reports of dire conditions and thinly spread staff, protective gear and life-saving equipment such as ventilators.

The state has expanded capacity to 90,000 beds from 53,000, and the USNS Comfort medical ship docked in the Hudson River will treat as many as 500 coronavirus patients, reversing an earlier decision to handle only non-Covid overflow patients. Cuomo said none of the state’s deaths have occurred because a victim couldn’t be treated.

Cuomo said the encouraging trends are evidence that the near-total shutdown of the state’s economy and mandate to practice social distancing were working. He said that continued gains relied on keeping those practices in place, for now.

Still, the encouraging statistics give Cuomo an opening to begin talking about getting the state back to “restarting life,” eventually. He said that would take part in a coordinated effort with neighboring states and hopes to make antibody testing available to the masses. That would identify people who have had the virus and recovered from it, thus showing they are now resistant to it and can return to work.

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