Coronavirus killing more than a person an hour in New York City with 30% of total cases in US
The deadly novel coronavirus is spreading at a rapid rate in the United States, particularly New York City, where the COVID-19 is reportedly killing people at the rate of more than one person per hour. Reports state that as of Friday, between just 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., 14 people in New York City died from the virus, pushing the total death toll in the region to 43.
Before Friday's jump in the number of deaths, the total toll in the city had been 29. Reports state that it was the first time the city had witnessed a single-day toll increasing to double digits. NYC's Health Commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, late on Friday, warned New Yorkers that the double-digit deaths could become the city's new normal for a while, according to the New York Post.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to a day when we have double-digits new people dying every day," the commissioner said at a City Hall press conference on Friday afternoon. Reports state that during that eight-hour period on Friday, the city's coronavirus positive cases also increased from 5.151 to 5,683. Brooklyn alone reported the most number of Covid-19 cases at 1,750, followed by 1,514 in Queens, 1,402 in Manhattan, 736 in the Bronx, and 285 in Staten Island.
Authorities said that the sudden jump in the number of cases was due to an increase in the testing capacity of the city.
Considering the increasing number of cases in the state, President Donald Trump, on Friday, also declared New York State as a major disaster area, while NYC mayor Bill de Blasio declared the city as the epicenter of the US outbreak. The US military will reportedly be called in the city now with the US Army Corps of Engineers saying that they plan to take over hotels, sports arenas, college dorms, and other buildings in an attempt to bolster the number of available hospital rooms, the Daily Mail reported.
De Blasio, earlier this week, had urged Trump to send in the military and its logistical support to hard-hit New York State, California, and Seattle.
"We constitute 30 percent of the cases in the US and 70 percent of the cases in New York State," De Blasio on Friday said. "Whether we like it or not, we are the epicenter."
Trump's announcement came as a hospital in the Bronx revealed that it is running low on ventilators and a Queens doctor revealed that an elderly patient exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus died on the hospital ward floor.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken over 250 lives and has infected nearly 20,000 people within days, with most cases being reported in New York. Trump on Friday declared New York State a major disaster area as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases continues to skyrocket in the region. New York City is currently considered the epicenter of the outbreak in the area. The deadly viral infection, Covid-19, has claimed nearly 10,000 lives across the world, with a total infection of over 220,000 and increasing.