New York death toll doubles in 72 hours

Of the more than 200,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, more than one-third are in New York. The death toll from the virus in the state went from about 950 to more than 1,900 between Sunday and Wednesday. “How does it end?” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked. “People want answers. I want answers. The answer is nobody knows for sure.”

How much worse can it get? The state expects infections to peak at the end of April, with the high death rate continuing through July. Mayor Bill de Blasio estimated New York City will need 65,000 additional hospital beds by the end of the month. The public hospital system plans to turn all of its spaces into intensive care units, The New York Times reported. In addition to the Samaritan’s Purse coronavirus field hospital, the city has converted the Javits Convention Center and 20 hotels to take in non-virus patients.

Dig deeper: Read my report in Compassion about how New York City’s Rikers Island jail and others released prisoners to head off outbreaks in correctional facilities.