The nation's coronavirus outbreak epicenter logged its single deadliest day yet. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the state had its highest single-day death toll due to COVID-19, with 779 reported Tuesday, but the average number of hospitalizations has decreased over the past couple of days. Cuomo said Wednesday that dramatic action and social distancing is "making the difference" in the fight against the pandemic.
"It's working, it's flattening the curve and we're seeing that today," the governor told reporters. "The curve is flattening because we are flattening the curve by what we're doing." Cuomo said that closing schools and non-essential businesses has helped the state bring down the rate of new COVID-19 infections requiring hospitalization. He added that some hospitals in the state are releasing more patients than taking in new ones.
The 779 deaths on Tuesday were the highest number of new coronavirus deaths in New York for a second straight day. Cuomo, who ordered all flags in New York state flown at half-staff, said that people need to remain vigilant and disciplined about social distancing. As of Wednesday, there are 149,316 cases of COVID-19 in New York, with at least 6,268 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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