Coronavirus In Westchester: Good News From Gov. Cuomo

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — The new coronavirus outbreak in Westchester County has slowed down, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news briefing Wednesday morning. What has happened in Westchester shows that the state's efforts to reduce the rate of infection are working, he said.

"In Westchester we have dramatically slowed what was an exponential increase," he said. "Can you slow the rate of infection? Yes. How? That was the hottest cluster in the USA. We closed the schools, we closed gatherings, we brought in testing."

The first confirmed case in Westchester was announced March 3. As of Wednesday morning, there were 4,691 cases confirmed in the county, the second highest number of cases in the state. In the lower Hudson Valley, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties are also in the top 10. SEE: Orange County Confirms First Coronavirus Death.

County Executive George Latimer provided a community breakdown of cases in Westchester of Tuesday afternoon:

• New Rochelle: 225
• Yonkers: 191
• Mount Vernon: 81
• White Plains: 65
• Greenburgh: 61
• Port Chester: 45
• Scarsdale: 38
• Eastchester: 35
• Ossining Village: 35
• Mount Pleasant: 30
• Yorktown: 30
• Harrison: 29
• Cortlandt: 28
• Peekskill: 25
• Mamaroneck Town: 18
• Mount Kisco: 18
• Pelham: 17
• Sleepy Hollow: 17
• Dobbs Ferry: 16
• Mamaroneck Village: 16
• Rye Brook: 16
• Pleasantville: 14
• Rye City: 14
• Larchmont: 13
• New Castle: 13
• North Castle: 13
• Tarrytown: 12
• Pelham Manor: 11
• Hastings-on-Hudson: 11
• Bedford: 9
• Briarcliff Manor: 9
• Bronxville: 9
• Somers: 8
• Irvington: 7
• Lewisboro: 7
• Ossining Town: 7
• Tuckahoe: 7
• Croton-on-Hudson: 5
• Elmsford: 5
• Ardsley: 3
• North Salem: 2
• Pound Ridge: 1

Westchester and two other counties in the Hudson Valley — Orange and Rockland — are in the top 10 areas for testing.

While it is possible to get tested for the virus officially known as COVID-19 at any hospital in New York State if you have symptoms and meet the protocols, the most aggressive testing is being down in the lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island.

"We strategically test in most dense areas. Why? Because we're hunting positives and you're more likely to get positives in a high-positive area," Cuomo said. The strategy is to find and isolate as many people who are contagious as possible, to slow the rate of infection.

In addition to continuing to test people at a rate far exceeding any other state, Cuomo said his administration is working to create enough hospital beds, staff and equipment to deal with the height of the outbreak, when as many as 140,000 hospital beds are projected to be needed across New York.

That apex is expected in about 21 days, he said.

He said 40,000 healthcare workers, including retirees and students, have signed up to volunteer to work as part of the state's surge healthcare force during the pandemic, with more expected to sign up in the coming weeks.

Additionally, more than 6,000 mental health professionals have signed up to provide free online mental health services. New Yorkers can call the state's hotline at 1-844-863-9314 to schedule a free appointment.

In other good news, Cuomo said the hospitalization rate may also be slowing down. On Monday, the projections were that hospitalizations would be doubling every two days. As of Wednesday, they're only projected to double every 4.7 days, he said.

"The theory is given the density that we're dealing with [the coronavirus] spreads very quickly but if you reduce the density you can reduce the spread very quickly," he said. "These projections, I've watched them bounce all over the place ... but this is a very good sign, a positive sign. The arrows are headed in the right direction. To the extent people say 'these are burdensome requirements' yes they are burdensome. By the way they are effective and they're necessary and the evidence suggests they have slowed the hospitalizations. This is everything."

He reiterated his call for help from the federal government, particularly to deploy more ventilators from its stockpile.

"New York is the canary in the coal mine - we have the most positive cases in the nation and the most critical need for equipment and personnel," Cuomo said.

"We are doing everything we can to flatten the curve and slow the infection rate so the influx of hospitalizations doesn't overwhelm our healthcare system. Thousands of New Yorkers have selflessly volunteered to be part of our surge healthcare force and support the hospital surge capacity, but we need more ventilators and more hospital beds now, and we need the help of the federal government to get them," he said. "Different regions have different curves at different times, but New York is first, and once we get through this we can use our experience and supplies to help other states to get through this pandemic."

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