New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is giving an update Monday on the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, Cuomo announced the creation of a coalition of seven states in the Northeast to buy medical equipment and personal protective equipment.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will join forces to purchase the equipment as a block, which Cuomo said will help lower the prices and enable the states to actually close the deals.
“The notion of coordinating together as a region makes enormous sense. So sign us up. Sign New Jersey up,” said N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy. “Not only should we not have to be scouring the world for this, it ought to be made in the USA. Even better yet, made in our states.”
Cuomo said Sunday the total hospitalization rate was below 10,000 — 9,786, to be exact — the first time since mid-March that has been the case. The number of intubations was also down.
There were 799 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed, and 280 additional deaths. “The overall direction is good, even though it is very painful,” Cuomo said.
How to watch Cuomo’s briefing today:
Cuomo said two months into the pandemic it’s time to “learn the lessons” thus far. He cited a Centers for Disease Control report that suggested that there are different strains of the virus — a strain on the West Coast which came from China and a strain on the East Coast which came from Europe.
“That’s an important fact to know and study,” Cuomo said.
