New York City recorded zero deaths from the coronavirus for the first time since the pandemic hit the city in March.
The onetime epicenter of the health crisis reported Sunday that no coronavirus-related deaths took place on Saturday, according to initial data from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Officials recorded no confirmed deaths from the virus on Friday as well but did report two probable deaths.
The new data marks the first time the city hasn’t reported a COVID-19 death since the first resident died from the illness on March 11, indicating that New York has successfully flattened its curve. The state as a whole has reported more than 400,000 cases of the coronavirus and over 32,000 deaths in the past four months.
While cases in New York appear to be tapering off, they are rising in a slew of Southern states. Florida set a record on Sunday for daily coronavirus cases after reporting the highest single-day increase yet for any state in the country.
Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Friday that such increases in other states could lead to a rise in the virus in his state.
“You’re going to see our numbers and the Northeast numbers probably start to increase because the virus that you see now in the South and the West — California has real trouble — it’s going to come back here,” he said in a radio interview. “It is going to come back here. It’s like being on a merry-go-round. It’s totally predictable. And we’re going to go through an increase. I can feel it coming. And it is so unnecessary and so cruel.”
