Containment measures pay in New York. For the first time, the coronavirus epidemic in this state - epicenter of the epidemic in the United States - has started a "descending" curve, said Sunday April 19, Governor Andrew Cuomo, in his daily press briefing on the epidemic.
We have slowed the infection rate so that every 10 people infect about 9 people.
That means that the outbreak is slowing, not growing.
But it leaves very little room for error.
We need the bring the infection rate down even more in order to safely reopen the economy.
We believe NY is past the peak and we are now descending the other side of the mountain.
The continuation of this positive trend depends on our actions.
What each of us does makes all the difference.
"The continuation of this decline will depend on what we do," said the governor, who recently extended containment measures until May 15.
"We must remain clever and coordinated", "not to compromise" the progress made, he insisted, while the demonstrations multiplied across the United States to demand the end of containment measures and the revival of economical activities.
This state of some 20 million inhabitants has already registered some 236,000 confirmed cases of the virus, nearly a third of all American cases, and more than 13,000 deaths, according to the latest figures available.
Massive serology tests
In the past 24 hours, the state has deplored another 507 deaths. This figure is nevertheless the lowest since April 2. On April 9, a daily death record was reached with 799 deaths.
The governor also announced massive statewide serology tests next week to determine "exactly how many people have been infected with the virus".
This measure should help determine the decontainment strategy to adopt, a strategy that the governor has emphasized coordinating with five other states in the northeast of the United States: New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island.
In a message that seemed to implicitly target President Donald Trump, who is accused of stirring up opposition to containment measures and pushing for a rapid economic recovery, he stressed the importance of leaders "sending the right message".
"Now is not the time to send different messages," he said. "If people don't trust their government, if they think it's chaos, or confusion in our policies, it would be a terrible message to send."
With AFP
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