Coronavirus: New York has ‘exhausted every option’ to tackle outbreak, says Cuomo as cases double every three days

The state anticipates it will reach its apex for the virus in 14 to 21 days

New York governor Andrew Cuomo has warned the public about the “troubling” situation in the state, as he reveals coronavirus cases are accelerating at a faster rate and doubling every three days.

“We’ve exhausted every option available to us,” the governor said on Tuesday during his daily press briefing.

To combat the spread of the virus, New York state has ordered all nonessential workers to stay at home. It also shut its restaurants, bars, gyms, and other community spaces. Schools were closed in the state to prevent students from spreading the novel virus among each other and their families.

Despite all these restrictions, the state is still seeing a sharp increase in cases.

“The rate of new infections is doubling about every three days,” he said. “We haven’t flattened the curve. And the curve is actually increasing.”

The state initially estimated it could need 110,000 hospital beds, but now there is a need for 140,000 beds given how quickly the pandemic is accelerating. As of now, the state only has about 53,000 beds available. New York also needs an estimated 40,000 ICU beds.

“Those are troubling and astronomical numbers,” Mr Cuomo said. The apex of the virus is anticipated to hit in 14 to 21 days, he added.

“The apex is higher than we thought and the apex is sooner than we thought. That is bad facts.”

Ventilators are also needed in the state to properly treat the patients who end up in the ICU beds. FEMA is sending 400 ventilators to New York to help that need, but the state requires an additional 30,000.

“You are missing the magnitude of the problem when the problem is defined by the magnitude,” the governor said about receiving only hundreds of ventilators when thousands are needed.

Mr Cuomo took a grimmer and sharper tone about New York’s current situation when speaking on Tuesday. This included imploring Donald Trump to use the Defence Production Act to produce necessary ventilators for the country. The president signed the act but has yet to use it despite a growing need for necessary health equipment, like ventilators and masks.

“Act like it’s a war,” the governor said, adding: “You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die unless you send more ventilators.”

Testing ramped up across the state to determine where the spread is happening, with 12,000 people tested on Monday. In total, New York has tested more than 90,000 people, which is significantly more than any other state.

The state now has 25,655 confirmed cases, which makes up over 6 per cent of total cases globally.

While New York is taking the brunt of the coronavirus cases as of late, Mr Cuomo warned more states will soon experience a similar situation.

“We are just a test case. That’s how the nation should look at it. Look at us today. Where we are today, you will be in three weeks or four weeks... We are your future,” he said. “I’m not asking you to help New York to help New York. I’m asking you to help New York to help yourselves.”