Thursday January 16, 2025

NY governor declares state of emergency as COVID-19 cases soar to 76

Published : 07 Mar 2020, 22:59

DF-Xinhua Report

A passenger with face mask is seen in a metro train in Manhattan of New York, the United States, March 4, 2020. File Photo Xinhua.

Governor of the U.S. state of New York declared a state of emergency on Saturday as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the northeastern state rose to 76.

At a press conference, Governor Andrew Cuomo said that New York City, the most populous metropolis in the country, has seen 11 cases, and Westchester County now has 57, an increase of 23 overnight.

Long Island's Nassau County has four, Rockland County has two and Saratoga County has two new cases.

All cases in Westchester County are related to the state's second confirmed case, which involves an attorney who worked in Manhattan.

"Westchester is an obvious problem for us," the governor said. "They talk about the contagion in clusters and the clusters tend to infect more and more people."

However, Cuomo repeatedly urged the public to stay calm, noting that about 80 percent of the COVID-19 patients will self-resolve and the overall health risk to New Yorkers are still low.