US: New York City confirms more than 8,000 coronavirus cases

New York City's tally of coronavirus cases and deaths has reportedly continued to soar with authorities announcing 8,115 coronavirus cases and 60 deaths. About 1,450 people have been hospitalized -- and at least 370 of those are in intensive care. Governor Andrew Cuomo said there are now more than 10,000 positive cases of coronavirus in New York State. The stats have made it the worst-affected state in the United States.

Coronavirus pandemic in New York

At a Saturday morning news conference, Cuomo said that the number of cases is due to the high number of tests that the state has performed.  More than 45,000 tests have been conducted at hospitals and mobile testing facilities.  The official total on Saturday was 10,356. He said that there are 6,211 cases in New York City, 1,385 in Westchester, 1,234 in Nassau County, 622 in Suffolk County, 262 in Rockland County. 1,603 out of the 10,356 victims are currently hospitalized, according to the governor.

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The governor also said that 54 per cent of the coronavirus cases in New York State are people between the ages of 18 and 49 years old, and once again asked young people to observe social distancing rules. The governor repeated his calls for calm and asked people to practice humanity and show some compassion towards others.

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New York reviewing sites

According to Cuomo, anywhere from 40 to 80 per cent of the population of New York State will be infected by the coronavirus. He also revealed that the state is reviewing places to put new hospital beds in response to the coronavirus outbreak, including New York City's main convention center and some state university campuses, to get hospital capacity, which now stands at around 50,000, up to 75,000 beds.

Possible locations for temporary hospitals, which would be operated by the Army Corps of Engineers, include Stony Brook University and SUNY College at Old Westbury on Long Island and the Westchester County Center, in addition to Manhattan's Javits Center, Cuomo said. Officials have identified 2 million face masks that can be sent to hot spots, Cuomo said, and apparel companies are pivoting to make masks. One million masks are being sent to New York City hospitals Saturday, and 500,000 to Long Island, he said.

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