New York (14 March, 202): New York City has seen its first coronavirus-related death — an 82-year-old woman who contracted the illness while dealing with an underlying respiratory illness, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The woman was hospitalized in Brooklyn on March 3 after contracting the novel coronavirus “on top of the emphysema,” Cuomo said during a teleconference Saturday. The case marked the first death of a person in New York State “who had the coronavirus with the underlying symptoms,” he said.
The number of positive cases in the state also increased to 524 on Saturday, Cuomo said. Of the 524 confirmed cases, 117 are hospitalized. 213 of the 524 cases are in New York City; 172 are in Westchester County; 68 are in Nassau County; 33 are in Suffolk County; 10 are in Rockland County; 6 are in Orange County; 3 are in Dutchess County. A complete breakdown of the numbers can be found here.
Tioga and Tompkins counties both saw their first confirmed positive cases, Cuomo said.
“The more tests we take, the more that number will go up,” Cuomo noted. “We believe there are thousands of people who have coronavirus [in the state]. Maybe tens of thousands.”
Cuomo on Saturday also encouraged New Yorkers to seek health advice remotely, saying the state would waive copayments for insurers “for any telemedicine visits.”
At a press conference on Saturday afternoon, meanwhile, Vice President Mike Pence announced the U.S. would expand its travel ban to include the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Saturday noted that the 82-year-old woman who died had been in critical condition since she was admitted to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn.
Thirty people in New York City were hospitalized due to the novel coronavirus as of Saturday afternoon, 19 of whom were in intensive care, de Blasio noted. Eighty percent of those hospitalized were over 50 years old and/or have pre-existing conditions, he said. One of the new confirmed cases is an FDNY member who works at a firehouse in Brooklyn; 31 members of the firehouse have been quarantined “as a matter of precaution,” de Blasio said.
