The Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, has confirmed that his brother, Chris Cuomo, has tested positive for the coronavirus disease. The Governor revealed this information on Tuesday and on this day, New York State recorded more than 9,000 new infections.
With these new infections, total number of coronavirus cases in New York now stands at 75,795, the highest than any other state in the U.S. Death toll in the state spiked by 27% bringing total fatalities numbers to 1,550.
“My brother Chris is positive for coronavirus, we found that this morning. He is going to be fine, he’s young, strong not as strong as he thinks. I spoke to him this morning and he is going to be quarantined in his basement,” said Governor Cuomo.
Chris Cuomo, 49 years old CNN television anchor announced via his Twitter account that he will continue hosting his nightly show from his basement. He is however worried of infecting his wife and children with the virus.
Governor Cuomo has been on the forefront on the fight to combat coronavirus since his state is the most affected in the country. This indeed has increased his popularity by far. On Monday he was interviewed by his brother on CNN where he ruled out any possibility of running for the U.S Presidency.
Hospitals across New York have been overwhelmed by the increasing coronavirus patients. There is a high possibility of situation getting out of hand if the increasing pattern keeps with the trend.
The Governor said he had procured a total of 17,000 ventilators from China at an average cost of $25,000 per ventilator.
He however, gave a surety of only 2,500 and complained about competing with Federal Emergency Management Agency and other states in purchasing on buying the units.
“It’s like being on eBay with 50 other states bidding on a ventilator. The federal government, FEMA, should have been the purchasing agent, buy everything, and then allocate by need to the states.” Said Cuomo.
Additionally, the Governor expressed fears that the pandemic had not reached its peak urging everyone to gear up for the worst scenario ahead.
“The virus is more powerful, more dangerous than we expected. We’re still going up the mountain. The main battle is on top of the mountain,” he added.
