May 4 (UPI) — Coronavirus deaths in New York continued to plateau as several northeastern states joined together to acquire equipment to combat the spread of the virus.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced there were 280 deaths in the state within the past 24 hours, down from the 299 the state totaled on Friday but still above its previous low of 253 deaths on March 28.
“You can see the number hasn’t moved dramatically in a relatively long period of time. The overall direction is good even though it’s very painful. I think it’s important we take a moment and learn the lessons of what we’ve been going through,” Cuomo said on Sunday.
Overall, the United States has recorded 1,138,690 cases of COVID-19 and 66,570 people have died from the virus according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the state recorded 137 more deaths for a total of 7,871, placing it at second in the nation.
Massachusetts reported 158 new deaths on Sunday, placing it at third in the country with 4,004 total deaths as Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said the state is “still very much in the beginning days of coronavirus” calling for all U.S. cities to implement mass testing and provide personal protective equipment for frontline workers.
“As we move down the road here, if there’s a second surge, all of the equipment that they have now, they’ll need more stiff. I think that’s what the federal government should be focused on,” Walsh told CNN.
Cuomo also said that the state will require all hospitals to establish a 90-day stockpile of personal protective equipment to prepare for a potential resurgence in hospitalizations.
“We’re going to put in a state requirement now that every hospital has to have a 90-day supply stockpiled. Their own stockpile of all the PPE equipment they could need for a 90-day supply at the rate of usage we saw with this COVID virus,” he said.
In addition, the governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts have formed a regional partnership to purchase $5 billion worth of equipment including PPE, tests and ventilators.
“We shouldn’t be competing against each other for lifesaving resources. There is strength in our unity,” Murphy wrote on Twitter.
Pennsylvania has the sixth-most deaths in the nation at 2,823, including 47 new ones announced Sunday.
In the Midwest, Michigan reported another 29 fatalities for third place at 4,049.
Georgia, which opened non-essential businesses last week, is 12th at 1,117 with three more deaths reported. Louisiana, which at one time was a hotspot, didn’t report any deaths Sunday and is ninth at 1,969.
