New York coronavirus death toll rises above 1,200

The number of reported coronavirus deaths in New York shoots up by 253 in a single day to just over 1,200, a number Governor Andrew Cuomo calls “staggering.”

“That’s a lot of loss, that’s a lot of pain, that’s a lot of tears, that’s a lot of grief that people all across this state are feeling,” the governor says at a briefing in Manhattan.

Cuomo sounds the mournful note even as a Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds arrives in New York City.

State officials expect the number of deaths to continue to rise as the outbreak reaches its projected peak in the coming weeks.

“Whatever the numbers is, it’s going to be staggering,” Cuomo says. “We’ve lost over 1,000 New Yorkers.”

“To me, we’re beyond staggering already,” he says.

The state has already confirmed more than 66,000 cases, mostly in New York City.

There are 9,500 people in New York currently hospitalized for COVID-19.

— AP