New York (dpa) – Rapidly increasing case numbers in view of significantly more tests carried out in New York make the extent of the corona crisis in the US metropolis clear.
From Tuesday to Thursday alone, the number of detected infections more than quadrupled and was almost 4,000. This is mainly due to the increasing number of tests, which were inadequate in the USA for a long time, so that the number of unreported cases increased. New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo estimates tens of thousands of actual cases in the state.
Authorities had repeatedly warned that the capacities of hospitals in New York were not even remotely prepared for the contagion of broad sections of society. The government expects the state to need 30,000 ventilators. At the moment there are only 5,000 to 6,000, said Cuomo. He sent employees to China to quickly buy new equipment.
With officially just under nine million inhabitants, New York is the largest city in the United States of America and one of the global economic and cultural centers. World-class museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and dozens of Broadway musicals or sights such as the Statue of Liberty have in some cases been closed for days – just like the schools for more than a million children. Now “the city that never sleeps” is being given a compulsory break.
In preparation for the dramatic increase in the number of seriously ill patients, New York is now urgently seeking additional medical staff and planning to convert public facilities into emergency hospitals. Washington has already agreed to send a military hospital ship with around 1,000 cabins as support. Logistical help from the Army Corps of Engineers is also to come.
In a press conference, Cuomo referred to the darkest hours of the big city. “It reminds me of September 11th,” he said. “This is a moment that will change your whole life.” New York has been significantly emptier than usual in the past few days. On Monday, the city had already announced the closure of restaurants, bars, cinemas and concert halls, among other things. Cafes and restaurants are still allowed to deliver food.
The measure was introduced after New Yorkers drove out for dinner or pubs over the weekend despite official warnings. In the past few days, public life then went down piece by piece. Many New Yorkers already work from home. There was also an unusually large amount of space in Times Square and in the subway, the atmosphere serious but calm.
Mayor Bill de Blasio is still promoting a further tightening and a curfew, as it already exists in San Francisco on the west coast. This would have to be decided by the state, but Governor Cuomo braked in the past few days and said that such a measure was not yet planned.
The authorities expect gigantic damage to the local economy due to the standstill in New York and fear increasing hardship among the population. De Blasio had compared the possible dimensions with the Great Depression in the late 1920s. The New York City Transport Authority announced that they needed $ 4 billion. The number of customers had fallen by 90 percent in the regional trains and 60 percent in the subway.
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