New York Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the state’s shutdown order Thursday until May 15, citing data showing conditions were improving but insisting on the need to maintain vigilance.
The governor pointed to falling rates of hospitalization and patients admitted to intensive care, but said infection rates would have to decrease significantly before the economy could begin re-opening.
During a daily briefing, Cuomo said, “I would like to see that infection rate get down even more”.
“I don’t want to project beyond that period,” he further said.
“One month is a long time”, Cuomo added.
The announcement came on the eve of the implementation of a directive forcing New Yorkers to wear face coverings in public places where they cannot stay six feet (1.83 meters) apart.
New York, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the US, reported 11,571 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 213,779 confirmed cases.
As of Wednesday evening 11,586 people had died. Total hospitalizations, ICU admissions and intubations are coming down in the state, which Cuomo said is “good news” and signs that the COVID-19 curve is flattening in New York.
The US has the highest death toll in the world, followed by Italy with 22,170 dead although its population is just a fifth of that of the US.
Spain has recorded 19,130 deaths, followed by France with 17,920.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world topped 2 million Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with more than 143,000 confirmed deaths as of Thursday night.
The United States also provides several hundred million dollars to the WHO every year in voluntary funding tied to specific programs like polio eradication, vaccine-preventable disease, HIV and hepatitis, tuberculosis, and maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health.