Apr 9, 2020 - Health
New York's coronavirus death toll hits record high for third straight day
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799 people died from coronavirus in New York over the past 24 hours, a record high for the third straight day that brings the state's total death toll to 7,067.
Why it matters: Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a press conference that social distancing is helping to "flatten the curve" of coronavirus hospitalizations and that deaths are a lagging indicator. Still, he called the death figures "shocking and painful," noting that the virus has killed more than double the number of people who died in New York on 9/11.
- New York is now planning to bring in additional funeral directors to manage the massive loss of life, Cuomo said.
- The governor also said that New York will start an effort called "New York Loves" that will coordinate the charities, nonprofits and foundations that are looking to help the state recover from the crisis.
What he's saying:
“9/11 was supposed to be the darkest day in New York for a generation. We’ve done everything we can since 9/11 to make sure 9/11 didn’t happen again. We lose 2,753 lives on 9/11. We’ve lost over 7,000 lives to this crisis. That is so shocking and painful and breathtaking, I don’t even have the words for it.
9/11 was so devastating, so tragic. And then in many ways, we lose so many more New Yorkers to this silent killer. There was no explosion, but it was a silent explosion that just ripples through society with the same randomness, the same evil that we saw on 9/11.”
Go deeper: Cuomo issues executive order to allow New Yorkers to vote absentee
