Coronavirus: Westchester Could Be 2nd NY Location To Peak

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — Westchester could be the second place in New York where the new coronavirus outbreak peaks, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. New York City, with its high numbers of cases, is expected to peak first.

Westchester was New York's first hot spot as large groups of people who attended two events at a New Rochelle synagogue infected each other in late February.

"We were the first but not the worst," Westchester County Executive George Latimer pointed out.

New York state has 66,497 confirmed cases as of Monday morning.

Cuomo described a "rolling apex" at his Sunday news briefing, pointing out that the places where the coronavirus outbreak will peak first. The projections say the second peak will be in either Westchester or Long Island. He warned regions further upstate that their cases would rise, saying that's why the state has a two-pronged approach to the crisis: flattening the upward curve of cases and stockpiling equipment for where and when it's needed.

Earlier Monday, Cuomo received a briefing upon the arrival of the USNS Comfort at Pier 88 in New York City. The 1,000-bed hospital ship has 12 fully-equipped operating rooms and will significantly increase New York's hospital surge capacity.

At his Monday briefing, he said he met with the leaders of hospitals across the state, including Westchester Medical Center, Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Putnam and Montefiore Nyack. No one hospital can handle this outbreak alone, he said at his Monday news briefing.

At his side, Kenneth E. Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association, said, "We're going to work as one cohesive family system, the island as well as Westchester."

What's necessary is to balance the load on each hospital, he said.

"Each day that goes on the stress points will increase," he said.

"New York is just the canary in the coal mine," Cuomo said. "What you see us going through here you will see elsewhere."

Coronavirus in New York

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