NY Coronavirus: Cases Stabilizing In Rockland, Westchester

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — While New York City's suburbs continue to be a concern, the rate of infection in the new coronavirus outbreak is leveling out in Rockland and Westchester counties, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his news briefing Friday.

"That seems to have stabilized," he said.

In the Hudson Valley, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 was 1,598 in Dutchess, 4,532 in Orange, 487 in Putnam, 7,122 in Rockland, 530 in Ulster and 18,077 in Westchester, according to the most recent data from the state health department.

Aggressive testing still goes on in Westchester, location of the nation's first hot spot. In the past three days, the number of people tested and the number of positive results doubled in the county.

Cuomo said the need to continue social distancing remains, even as the number of hospitalizations have flattened. There is evidence internationally that opening back up too quickly could lead to a second wave of infection, he said.

Social distancing was the key to flattening the curve, he said. "The natural trajectory was up and up and up."

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 was 170,512 as of Friday, and the number of deaths in New York hit 7,844. Nationwide, there have been more than 460,000 confirmed cases and the death toll was 17,836.

"I understand intellectually why it's happening," Cuomo said. "It doesn't make it any easier to accept."

Cuomo called for a federal fund to help people on the front lines, similar to the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. It would apply to essential workers and in particular to those in health care. "What they have done is amazing," he said. "The number of lives they've saved — they've saved tens of thousands of lives."

Rockland and Westchester counties continue to have 7-8 percent of the COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state.