'I Can't Do This Anymore': Cuomo Tackles Coronavirus Despair

NEW YORK, NEW YORK — "Twenty-one days of Hell."

"This is a terrible experience to go through."

"I can't do this anymore."

One could be forgiven if those words by Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his Saturday news conference imparted deep despair as the state's coronavirus lockdown entered its 56th day.

But Cuomo wasn't making a declaration of darkness — he wanted New Yorkers, including those in his own family, to know their sacrifices were worth it.

"You are saving lives," he said. "What you have done here has actually saved lives."

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The words "I can't do this anymore" weren't Cuomo's. He said one of his daughters, whom he left unnamed, spoke them.

It's a sentiment shared by many New Yorkers that Cuomo said he understood. He used it to kick off his "personal opinion" portion of his daily coronavirus briefing.

Steps New Yorkers took to slow the coronavirus' spread like social distancing and the statewide "PAUSE" are paying off, Cuomo said.

He noted early projections anticipated 100,000 more New Yorkers by this time would require serious medical care. They haven't thanks to hard choices and hard times, he said.

In fact, Cuomo kicked off the conference by noting daily coronavirus hospitalizations dipped to about 1,100 — the point they were at 21 days ago.

"Twenty-one days of Hell," is what Cuomo called it.

Cuomo said he hopes they dip even lower, and he noted a slight tick up in daily deaths from 422 to 437.

But he said the 56 days in lockdown, while hard, still aren't as long as the two years spent toiling through the 1918 influenza pandemic or even longer through the Great Depression and World War II.

Generations have been called on to deal with times of difficulty, he said.

"This is a terrible experience to go through," he said.

But the lives saved are worth it, Cuomo said.

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