GOVERNOR’S BRIEFING, Monday, 4/20

Coronavirus Deaths

Dip To 2-Week Low

ALBANY – At today’s briefing, Governor Cuomo said another 478 people had died in New York State, the lowest single-day toll in more than two weeks, The New York Times is reporting.

After saying in recent days that the virus appeared to have reached or passed a peak in the state, Mr. Cuomo said the authorities were now trying to ascertain how gradual the decrease in infection might be in the weeks to come.

“The question is, how long is the descent, and how steep is the descent?” he said. “Nobody knows. Just as nobody knew how long the ascent was, nobody can tell you how long the descent is.”

Governor Cuomo also:

• called on the federal government to provide hazard pay for essential public workers on the front lines, proposing a 50 percent bonus for these workers; 41 percent of frontline workers are people of color, disproportionately represented, Cuomo said.

• said the state is launching a new partnership with Ready Responders to bring health care services, including COVID-19 diagnostic testing, to residents of public housing in New York City.

• announced the state will deliver 500,000 cloth masks and 10,000 gallons of hand sanitizer to public housing communities.

• announced the creation of the Reimagine NY Task Force to improve systems in downstate New York once the state is no longer on pause, led by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and the county executives of Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

• announced that SUNY is distributing more than 8,800 laptops and Chromebooks to students in need who are currently completing their spring semester coursework online amid the COVID-19 health crisis.