New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says “it’s shocking” that the majority of new, or 66 percent of coronavirus hospital admissions are from people who have been staying at home. The Governor reported on Wednesday that data from 100 hospitals across the Empire State reveals that 66 percent of newly, admitted COVID-19 cases are from individuals who have been self-isolating at their residences.
Cuomo says the next highest number of hospital admissions are from nursing homes; 18 percent. Jail or prison inmates and staff were less than 1 percent, with 2 percent being from the state’s homeless population.
The figures come from approximately 1,000 patients statewide.
The Governor says health officials, and he, would have thought the higher percentage of hospital admissions would have come from people utilizing public transportation on a regular basis, but the numbers show otherwise. In fact, the Governor reported that 84 percent of the hospitalized patients were not commuting to work by bus, train, car services or even by walking to their jobs.
Most of the people were retired or unemployed. 73 percent were over the age of 51, and the majority come from the New York City metropolitan region.
Most of the cases in New York City hospitals are minorities, with nearly 50 percent either African American or Hispanics.
Cuomo says New York’s hospitalization rate “continues to fall, but at a painfully slow pace.”