New York state will be conducting a trial of an experimental drug combination to treat cases of COVID-19, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced this morning at a news conference in Albany.
Cuomo said that the state is receiving from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 10,000 doses of the drug combination hydroxychloroquine and zithromax. Anecdotal data indicate the drug combination may have some effect in treating the novel coronavirus for which there is currently no known treatment or vaccine. Cuomo said that Howard Zucker, the state’s health commissioner, recommended going ahead with the trial.
“We have people who are in serious condition and Dr. Zucker feels comfortable as well as a number of other health professionals that in a situation where a person is in dire circumstance try what you can,” Cuomo said. “As soon as we get those doses we will work with doctors, nurses and families on using those drugs and seeing where we get.”
“We’re also working on a number of other drug therapies,” Cuomo said. He referenced the Elmsford-based company Regeneron, which developed drugs to deal with Ebola.
“It’s an antibody therapy. A possible vaccine. We have a company here in New York that is really showing some promising results. I’ve exempted them from the ‘no work’ order because they could possibly have a really significant achievement for us.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared New York a federal disaster area.
“By the declaration FEMA would pay 75% of the cost of a disaster,” Cuomo said. “New York state would pay 25% of the cost. The federal government can waive the 25% of the cost. I’m asking them to waive that 25% in this situation.”
Cuomo said that because of a technical error in a federal law related to COVID-19 aid, New York state did not qualify to receive from the federal government. He said he has asked the state’s congressional delegation to get the error fixed.
Cuomo said that the state is going to need to add 25,000 hospital beds to the 50,000 it has. He is asking the federal government to send New York four military field hospitals each with a capacity of 250 patients. He also is asking that the Army Corps of Engineers build four temporary hospitals.
He said four sites have been identified by the Army Corps of Engineers: the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan; SUNY Stony Brook on Long Island; SUNY Purchase in Westchester; and the Westchester County Center in White Plains. Cuomo was planning to tour those sites this afternoon.
Cuomo said that the state needs the federal government to help in obtaining supplies, but on its own the state has tracked down 2 million N95 masks. It is also buying an additional 6,000 ventilators. He said apparel companies in New York were converting to manufacture masks.
“We’re also exploring the state of New York manufacturing masks ourselves,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo said there are now 10,356 cases of COVID-19 identified in the state. There were 294 new cases in Westchester that were identified from yesterday to today, bringing the known total in the county to 1,385.
New York City now has 6,211 known cases. Rockland jumped up by 161 cases, bringing the known total in that county to 262. Orange has 88 cases and Dutchess has 42 cases. New York state has almost half of the total number of cases identified in the U.S. The state has identified 10,356 people with the disease compared with 21,216 confirmed cases in the entire country. Reports placed the death toll in New York state on Saturday at 43.
Cuomo said the state is making progress in getting people tested, with a total of 45,437 tests having been administered. In Westchester, tests were run on 8,632 people.
Cuomo said that the estimated infection rate for any given population is from 40% to 80% based on data being gathered around the world. He said the data means that anywhere from 7.8 million to 15.6 million New York residents eventually could contract the virus.
Cuomo sought to refute false rumors about the containment measures now in effect being expanded to something akin to a total lockdown of the state. He emphasized that even with the social distancing rules, people are free to shop and go about their lives and have the freedom to travel.
He pointed out that the mass transit systems, governments and essential businesses still are operating and serving the public and when people go out and move about there are no barricades restricting freedoms.
One business that had been considered essential, the state Department of Motor Vehicles, is now on hiatus.
The DMV announced this evening that all of its offices and auto bureaus statewide are closed until further notice. This includes both state- and county-run field offices. While offices are closed, expiration dates for driver licenses, non-driver IDs, and registrations will be extended. In addition, road tests will be suspended until further notice.
“These are extraordinary times and at the direction of Governor Cuomo we are taking broad action to protect the health and safety of the public and our workers,” DMV Commissioner Mark J.F. Schroeder said. “We will continue to offer a wide selection of online transactions during this shutdown so New Yorkers can continue to do business with the DMV.”
To ensure there are no unintended consequences for New Yorkers who are not able to visit the DMV during the closure, any driver license, non-driver ID or registration set to expire on or after March 1, will be extended until further notice. The current 45-day temporary vehicle registration issued by auto dealers will also be extended. This extension does not apply to insurance coverage requirements. Motor Vehicle Liability insurance coverage must be maintained during this extension period.
More than 60 online transactions remain available to customers, including pleading or paying New York City traffic tickets, renewing a license or registration, ordering a custom plate, obtaining a driver record (abstract) and changing an address. Customers can also return their license plates and complete many other transactions by mail.
At his news conference, Cuomo expressed concern at ”a significant amount of noncompliance” with social distancing requirements in New York City.
“I’m going to go down there today. I want to see it for myself. But, it has to be stopped,” Cuomo said. He warned young people not to believe those who say young people are immune from the virus. He said 54% of the cases in New York state fall into the 18 to 54 age group.
“You are endangering people, and if it’s because of misinformation, if it’s because of noncompliance, I don’t care. This is a public health issue and you cannot endanger other people’s health. You shouldn’t be endangering your own.”
