First Coronavirus-Related Death Confirmed In New York
This Saturday morning, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the coronavirus has claimed its first life in New York. He explained that the woman with underlying respiratory issues died Friday night at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn.
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“We had last night a death in a New York City hospital of an 82-year-old woman who had coronavirus. She came into the hospital on March 3,” he said. “She contracted the coronavirus on top of emphysema, then she passed.”
According to The New York Post, New York now has 524 positive cases, which is an increase of 100 from Friday, with 117 patients now in hospitals. “The more tests we take, the more that number will go up,” Cuomo noted. “We believe there are thousands of people who have coronavirus [in the state]. Maybe tens of thousands.”
Cuomo also encouraged New Yorkers to seek health advice remotely, saying the state would waive copayments for insurers “for any telemedicine visits.”
Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio noted that the 82-year-old woman who died had been in critical condition since she was admitted to the hospital.
“We’ve known from the outset that these people are the most at risk in this pandemic, and today’s news is a sad confirmation of that reality,” de Blasio said. “I ask every New Yorker to do their part and take the necessary precautionary measures to protect the people most at risk.”
Aside from this, the Associated Press carefully noted that amid all the fears, quarantines and stockpiling of food, more that 60,000 people have already recovered from the coronavirus spreading around the globe.
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