New York City, which was once the epicentre of the nation's coronavirus outbreak, seems to have successfully flattened its curve reporting its first day with zero confirmed deaths or probable virus-related deaths for the first time in four months.
Preliminary health data from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene showed that no one died from COVID-19 in New York City on Saturday, the first time zero new deaths have been reported there since March.
Although officials recorded zero deaths the day before as well, two probable death cases were reported in the city. The pandemic has infected a total of 215,924 people and claimed 18,670 lives in the city, according to data updated on Sunday afternoon. The Big Apple hit its peak in terms of confirmed daily deaths from the virus on April 7, with 597 deaths.
"New Yorkers have been the hero of this story, going above and beyond to keep each other safe," City Hall spokeswoman Avery Cohen said in an emailed statement.
Cases Rise Across Other Parts of US
As New York is making progress as far as containing the outbreak is concerned, the virus has surged in other parts of the U.S., mainly across the Sunbelt states that moved to quickly reopen after the initial outbreaks, with Florida reporting a record-breaking 15,000 new cases on Sunday.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also warned on Friday that the rising cases in other parts of the country could once again lead to cases increasing across the state.
"You're going to see our numbers and the Northeast numbers probably start to increase because the virus that you see now in the South and the West — California has real trouble — it's going to come back here," Cuomo said in a radio interview.
"It is going to come back here. It's like being on a merry-go-round. It's totally predictable. And we're going to go through an increase. I can feel it coming. And it is so unnecessary and so cruel," he added.
