NY Governor Cuomo Warns Hospitalizations May Go Over 6,000 in Next Few Weeks

During his Press Briefing today, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo highlighted the rising rate of NYS COVID-19 related hospitalizations and how it can reach beyond 6,000 within a few weeks

With Thanksgiving Day, Black Friday and the weeks leading up to Christmas and other holidays on the horizon, the Governor did that which he’s been doing for weeks now. Bringing attention to concerns over gatherings during the holiday season – and the effect such behavior would have on Coronavirus infection numbers.

As we’ve been reporting over the past weeks, hospitalizations have continued on an upward trajectory since the third week of September. Since the beginning of November that rise has taken a sharper ascent.

According to Mr. Cuomo, if we continue along the rate that we’re on then there could be as many as 6,047 virus-related hospitalizations in three weeks. That forecast number comes without the help of the holidays. Factoring in the season would presumably worsen the outlook.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), NYC Mayor de Blasio, Governor Cuomo and many other local leaders have been pleading with New Yorkers to do the right thing by not traveling for the holidays and abstain from hosting or joining in family/friendly gatherings.

The following chart illustrates the upward trajectory of COVID-19 related hospitalizations:

Governor Cuomo today:

“Thanksgiving, Christmas, it’s the high social season. Social activity goes way up in this season. That is a bad combination. And it is always the combination of events that creates the major issues. This is a toxic cocktail of dynamics and facts. First, we’re already in a bad period. Before you get into Thanksgiving, we’re already in a bad period. In the last three weeks, the number of hospitalizations has gone from 1,200 to 2,700. That is a 122 percent increase. Factor that out, that rate for the next three weeks- same rate of increase we’ve had for the last three weeks – factor out that rate of increase. Forget Thanksgiving, forget everything else – just factor out the current rate of increase, you know where we are in three weeks? Six thousand cases. Do you get that? Six thousand cases by the current rate of increase. That’s before we go into 37 days of the highest socialization period of the year. If nothing else effects it, you go up to 6,000 cases, if you don’t get it down but you’re going into the period of high socialization. You put that rate of increase together with an additional increase from the high level of social activity that is a dangerous situation and that is exactly where we are going. “