NEW YORK _ More than 20,000 New Yorkers have been infected by the coronavirus, Gov. Cuomo announced Monday, meaning the Empire State now accounts for 5% of all cases worldwide.
In a news conference from Albany, the governor said 20,875 cases had been confirmed in New York as of the latest count _ an increase by 5,707 since Sunday.
"You can see that New York, far and away, has the bulk of the problem," Cuomo said.
At least 12,305 of New York's cases are in the five boroughs, and 157 people have died so far, Cuomo said.
With New York now officially under a stay-at-home decree, Cuomo also announced he was issuing an emergency order mandating hospitals statewide to increase their capacities by at least 50% to accommodate the continuously growing number of coronavirus patients.
"Find more beds, use more rooms," Cuomo said.
New York has emerged as the U.S. epicenter for the fast-spreading virus, and the city is dealing with the brunt of the problem.
Washington and California, the states with the second- and third-worst outbreaks in the U.S., respectively, have about 2,500 confirmed cases combined.
In addition to the hospital capacity boost, Cuomo said he was signing an executive order that would recommend all registered nurses to enlist in the escalating fight against the virus.
Roughly 13% of all infected New Yorkers are hospitalized, Cuomo said.
Hospitals across the state are reporting they're quickly running out of space and supplies, such as ventilators, masks, gloves and gowns.
Cuomo said the state is sending millions of so-called N95 masks to New York City and Long Island over the next few days.
However, he anticipated that those supplies won't last long and reiterated a call for President Donald Trump to activate the Defense Production Act.
Trump invoked the 1950 law last week, allowing him to order medical companies to ramp up production of masks and other sorely needed supplies.
However, in a confusing turn of events, Trump has refused to activate the Korean War-era law.
On Sunday, he claimed he was holding off because the U.S., unlike Venezuela, is not a country "based on nationalizing our business."
Cuomo dismissed Trump's hesitation as red-baiting nonsense.
"Yes, it is an assertion of government power on private sector companies. Yes. But so what? This is a national emergency," the governor said.
Cuomo was expected to later Monday tour Manhattan's Javits Center, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency is expected to transform into a field hospital as part of a major disaster declaration order approved by Trump for New York.
