Virus death toll tops 10,000 in NY with 2K new patients a day

NEW YORK — New York’s death toll from the coronavirus topped 10,000, with hospitals still seeing 2,000 new patients a day, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

The state tallied 671 new deaths on Sunday. It was the first time in a week daily toll dipped below 700. Still, the governor noted people are still dying at a “horrific level of pain and grief and sorrow.”

“This virus is very good at what it does. It is a killer,” Cuomo said during a state Capitol news briefing.

Cuomo said almost 2,000 people were newly hospitalized with the virus Sunday, though once discharges and deaths are accounted for, the number of people hospitalized has flattened to just under 19,000.

Shortage of swabs

Meanwhile, New York City is in danger of running out of swabs for COVID-19 tests and is urging medical providers to continue testing only patients who are gravely ill, the city health department said in a memo to health care providers.

“As the swab supply continues to decline, there is a real possibility hospitals will completely run out,” the April 11 health alert said. “At this time, providers are reminded to only test hospitalized patients in order to preserve resources that are needed to diagnose and appropriately manage patients with more severe illness.”

The warning came amid repeated pleas from New York City and state officials for the federal government to provide widespread testing in order to move to a containment phase in the coronavirus outbreak.

“If the president of the United States or anyone else wants a recovery — and we all want it, right? But if you’re serious about it, you can’t do it without widespread testing,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a City Hall briefing Monday.

The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, said the city “won’t be able to get this over the finish line, if you will, if we don’t have the supply that the mayor is calling for or the assistance of the federal government.”

Through Sunday afternoon, 462,000 people in New York have been tested for the virus, according to state figures. Of those, nearly 189,000 had tested positive.

Shortage of testing

Because of rationing, just 44% of tests conducted in the state have been done in New York City, even though the city represents 74% of the state’s fatalities from the virus.

Lack of testing capability, partly due to rationing of personal protective equipment for the people who would have to administer them, has also stopped officials from doing widespread testing of hospital and nursing home staff who might be passing infections to each other and to patients.

Other developments

— A member of the crew of the coronavirus-infected USS Theodore Roosevelt died Monday of complications related to the disease, 11 days after the aircraft carrier’s captain was fired for pressing his concern that the Navy had done too little to safeguard his crew. The sailor was the first active-duty military member to die of COVID-19.

— Americans are beginning to see the first economic impact payments hit their bank accounts. The IRS tweeted Saturday it has begun depositing the funds into taxpayers’ bank accounts and will be working to get them out as fast as possible.

— The coronavirus outbreak has fueled attempts to ban abortions in some states, but providers where the procedure remains available report increased demand, often from women distraught over economic stress and health concerns linked to the pandemic.

— As countries across Europe have restricted the movement of their citizens, Sweden stands out for what the country’s chief epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, calls a “low-scale” approach that is “much more sustainable” over a longer period. The softer approach means schools for younger children, restaurants and most businesses remain open, creating the impression that Swedes are living their lives as usual.