New York, the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States, has now recorded 7,067 deaths from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, or nearly half of the total across the country. Cuomo said he planned to bring in additional funeral directors to deal with the fallout of what he characterized as a “silent explosion” that has sent “ripples through society” and represented the “same evil” that terrorized New York in 2001. Despite the growing toll, Cuomo said business and school closures and other social distancing measures had helped drive down new hospitalizations to just 200 people on Wednesday, a third of the level a day earlier and the lowest since the crisis began.
