NEW YORK, March 9 (NNN-Xinhua) — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US state of New York surged to 105 on Sunday, or 16 more than the day before, according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“Sixteen overnight,” said the governor, who declared a state of emergency Saturday over the deadly virus. “We did more tests overnight.”
Cuomo called on the U.S. federal government to expedite their approval of private labs and automated and manual testing to expand New York State’s testing capacity, according to an announcement from the governor’s press office.
“He also encouraged New Yorkers to work from home, telecommute and avoid densely populated spaces whenever possible to help contain the spread of the virus,” it said.
According to the state’s health authorities, 93 of the confirmed cases are outside of New York City.
Cuomo said the state “mobilized quickly,” but the federal government has been “slow off the mark and they continue to be slow.”
“That’s unacceptable. We need them to approve these private labs today so we can stay ahead of this evolving situation,” said the governor. “Worse than the virus right now is the fear pandemic, and getting these additional facilities online will ensure we have more facts that will help keep people calm.”
