US COVID Cases Surpass 3,000... Patient Surge Triggers 'Super Emergency' in New York

Over 2,000 Cases Surpassed, Another 1,000 Increase in Two Days
New York Surpasses Washington as State with Most Patients
Governor Cuomo Calls for Military Engineers to Expand Hospital Beds
Calls for Night Curfew and School Closure Extension Emerge

The streets of Manhattan, New York City, which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the United States, are completely empty on the 15th.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] CNN reported on the 15th (local time) that the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) in the United States has surpassed 3,000.

As of the morning of the same day (Eastern Time), CNN counted 3,100 COVID-19 patients in the U.S. After surpassing 2,000 on the 13th, the number increased by 1,000 in just two days. Johns Hopkins University also reported 3,224 confirmed cases in the U.S. The death toll reached 62, and the outbreak areas expanded to all 49 states except West Virginia, as well as Washington D.C.

In the early stages of the outbreak, confirmed cases were concentrated in Washington State, but now New York State has emerged as the highest-risk area. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the number of COVID-19 patients in New York State has risen to 729. New York State has surpassed Washington State, which had 642 cases, becoming the state with the highest number of patients.

Governor Cuomo expressed the need to deploy the Army Corps of Engineers to increase hospital beds. In a New York Times column that day, he argued, "I do not believe using military forces in the face of a national disaster would violate federal law." He added, "Even then, there will still be a shortage of intensive care unit beds, but that is our best hope." This was a call for extraordinary measures to resolve the severe shortage of hospital beds amid the rapid increase in COVID-19 patients.

Governor Cuomo also urged the federal government to establish unified standards on when to close stores and schools and cancel events. He emphasized that the federal government should provide principles regarding social distancing measures, which are currently being implemented differently by each state across the U.S.

Many states near New York, such as New Jersey, have decided to close public schools, but New York State and New York City have yet to make such decisions. A CDC official stated that a 2-4 week school closure would be insufficient to curb the spread of COVID-19, and that an 8-week closure would be appropriate. Scott Stringer, New York City Comptroller, demanded a complete city shutdown excluding essential services via his Twitter account.

Hoboken City in New Jersey, which borders New York State, announced that starting from the 16th, a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day will be imposed, and general restaurant operations will be suspended except for takeout (food to go) or delivery services.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.