New York reports lowest new coronavirus deaths since end of March

New York recorded the lowest number of new deaths from Covid-19 is 207  since the end of March. Other indicators also began to show the virus outbreak nearing where it was at the start of what Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday called “this hellish journey.”

He said he would release on Monday more details on how New York would begin to reopen and confirmed that some areas upstate would be ready to slowly open after the official lockdown ends on May 15.

Cuomo gave no sign that New York City or the surrounding areas are anywhere near being able to reopen.

He also recorded another 12 cases, for a total of 85, of a newly-recognized, COVID-related illness that afflicts children and has killed three in New York. The condition is called pediatric multi-system inflammatory disease, and it can cause dangerous inflammation, including to the heart.

“This is every mother’s nightmare,” he said in Albany on Mother’s Day. “Every parent’s nightmare. Nobody knew about it. Nobody was watching for it.”

Earlier on Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also issued a warning about the illness, saying that 38 cases have been detected in the city and another nine are being investigated. One child has died, he stated.

He also added that parents should be alert to symptoms including persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain and vomiting.

“Every parent out there, if you see these symptoms, take them seriously,” de Blasio said. “If you see these symptoms, report them to their doctors immediately. I want to make sure everyone takes this seriously.”

Both the governor and the mayor discussed the use the drug remdesivir in New York. Cuomo said the drug will be used on 2,900 people at 15 hospitals and has shown “some positive effect.”

De Blasio stated that the drug had cut hospital stays for patients taking it from 15 days to 11 days. The number of new coronavirus cases in New York increased on Sunday 2,273, for a total of 335,395.

The number of new deaths dropped from 226 the day before, the lowest since March 27, and also the 10th straight day of new deaths at a plateau in the 200s. New and total hospitalizations, as well as intensive care cases, continued to decline.