New York state’s single-day virus death toll rises but infections slow

New York state recorded 778 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, up from 671 the day before, but new hospital admissions and infections were down, Governor Andrew Cuomo says.

The rise in the single-day toll brought the total number of deaths in the state — America’s coronavirus epicenter — to 10,834, Cuomo tells reporters.

The 24-hour toll is close to the state’s single-day high of 799 reported on Thursday of last week.

But Cuomo says infections continued to slow, with the average rate of hospitalizations and intubations down.

The governor adds that new hospital admissions were around 1,600 on Monday, down from a high of more than 3,400 recorded in early April.

“We are reducing the rate of infection,” Cuomo says.

“We are changing the curve, every day. We’ve shown that we control the virus, the virus doesn’t control us,” he adds.

New York has borne the brunt of America’s deadly outbreak, accounting for almost half of the country’s fatalities.

— AFP