NEW YORK (Reuters) – Texas on Saturday became the latest U.S. state hit by a protest largely from supporters of President Donald Trump anxious to get back to work, while the governor of New York said his coronavirus-battered state may finally be past the worst of the health crisis there.
A relative or friend looks on after a man who has tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is loaded in an ambulance in Chelsea, Massachusetts, U.S., April 17, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
New York, epicenter of the U.S. epidemic, on Saturday reported another 540 coronavirus-related deaths for April 17, the lowest daily tally since April 1. While that was down from 630 a day earlier, it still represented hundreds more families who lost a loved one to COVID-19, the highly contagious illness caused by the virus, in a single day in one state.
The number of patients requiring intensive care and ventilators to help them breathe as the virus attacks their lungs was also down in New York.
“If you look at the past three days, you could argue that we are past the plateau and we’re starting to descend, which would be very good news,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said during his daily coronavirus briefing.
Still, some 2,000 people were being hospitalized with COVID-19 every day, Cuomo said, and 36 of the latest New York deaths occurred at nursing homes, which have been ravaged by the pandemic nationwide.
In neighboring New Jersey, some 40% of coronavirus deaths “are related in some way to long-term care” facilities, the state’s health commissioner said.
New Jersey reported another 231 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, taking the total there past 4,000.
The state’s governor, Phil Murphy, said he