With reports offering varying estimates on how long coronavirus will be a crisis here in the U.S., New York governor Andrew Cuomo believes the pandemic could be an issue for his state for up to the next nine months, leading into early 2021.
“This is not a short term situation,” Cuomo told reporters in Albany on Sunday morning. “This is not a long weekend. This is not a week.”
“It is going to be four months, six months, nine months,” Cuomo added. “You look at China, once they really changed the trajectory—which we have not done yet—eight months. We’re in that range.”
According to Mediate, he also dropped a discouraging bombshell: Up to 80 percent of people could wind up being infected by COVID-19.
“The timeline—nobody can tell you, it depends on how we handle it—but 40 percent, up to 80 percent of the population will wind up getting this virus, all we’re trying to do is slow the spread,” Cuomo said. “But it will spread; it is that contagious.”
As of March 23, the Empire State alone has more than 20,000 reported cases, roughly 5 percent of the world’s cases, and at least 157 deaths, almost 1 percent, NBC New York reported. While on Friday Cuomo issued a statewide shutdown, over the weekend he reminded fellow New Yorkers to remain calm.
“All essential services will be maintained. There’s not going to be chaos, there’s not going to be anarchy,” he assured. “Life is going to go on. Different, but life is going to go on.”
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