The city’s coronavirus toll continued its dramatic rise with more than 4,000 new cases and over 200 more deaths in the past 24 hours.
The Big Apple now has 44,915 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,139 deaths as of 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning — up from 40,900 cases and 932 deaths at the same time Tuesday.
The majority of victims — 789 out of the current 1,139 — have underlying illnesses like diabetes, lung disease and cancer.
Queens is still the epicenter of the outbreak with 14,996 cases followed by Brooklyn with 12,076, The Bronx with 8,398, Manhattan with 6,960 and Staten Island with 2,480.
Fifty-five percent of the positive cases are men and most are between the ages of 18 to 64.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday he expects an even bigger increase in the numbers in the coming weeks.
“The fact is [it’s] coming on fast and it will not be over in an instant,” de Blasio warned Tuesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, a part of which is being turned into a makeshift hospital to handle coronavirus patients.
