April 13 coronavirus news

While discussing reopening the economy, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo emphasized the importance of starting the transportation system along with the rest of the economy.

“These systems work in coordination," he added.

Cuomo said the federal government also needs to work in coordination with these systems.

“You’re going to need federal support, and you’re going to need smart legislation passed by the federal government that actually attends to the need as opposed to normal political considerations," he said.

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said recovering from the pandemic is not like flipping a switch on and off.

Cuomo said he often thinks about when this could be over — and he doesn't know.

"When is it over? I have this conversation a hundred times a day," he said, noting that many of the social distancing guidelines go against "human behavior and needs."

"It's not going to be, we flip a switch," Cuomo said. "I would love to say that's going to happen. It's not going to happen that way."

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He added that he thinks New York can "start on the path to normalcy."

"I want it to be over tomorrow," Cuomo said. "But that's not reality."

Later in the press conference, Cuomo said this wouldn't truly be over until there is a vaccine for Covid-19, which could be 12 to 18 months.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said whenever he "reopens" the state, it will mean easing isolation and reassessing what are considered "essential" businesses and workers.

Cuomo said this will increase economic activity.

The governor said that while this is happening, officials will monitor infection rates, saying it's "a delicate balance."

He added that he is not "interested in political opinions," and he will lean on advice from expertsWatch:

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he was worried about the coronavirus outbreak spreading from New York City to suburbs upstate.

"This is like watching a fire going through dry grass with a strong wind," he said. "And it’s blowing the fire, and a couple embers wind up on one side of the field and embers start to catch fire and that’s a cluster, and you have to run over to those embers and stamp them out right away before they grow."

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At least 10,056 people have died from coronavirus across New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said — that's up from from 9,385 yesterday.

There were 671 deaths on Sunday, Cuomo said. He noted that was "not as bad as it has been in the past."

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the curve of hospitalizations for coronavirus continues to flatten.

"Here's the good news: The curve continues to flatten," he said. "It appears we have a plateau."

However, he added, it's hard to predict what will happen next.

"Nobody knows how long because nobody has been here before," he said.

Gov. Cuomo also noted that there are still about 2,000 people coming into the hospital system daily.

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South Korea will begin sending Covid-19 testing kits to the US as soon as tomorrow afternoon, an official with South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told CNN.

Earlier today, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said in an interview with France 24 said the country will send 600,000 test kits to the US.  It is unclear how many kits of the 600,000 could be sent tomorrow.

South Korea’s ability to test large numbers of people in a short period of time has been a major contributing factor in its success in combating the virus.

Kang said the tests received preliminary FDA approval "as a result of conversation between my president and President Trump last month. I think the contracts have been signed and they should be ready for shipment anytime soon. “

Trump and Moon Jae-in spoke on the phone last month about the pandemic, and Trump had requested assistance procuring medical equipment from South Korea.

SolGent, the first South Korean coronavirus test kit manufacturer to register for stockpile procurement by FEMA, told CNN on Monday that the company had already shipped 150,000 new coronavirus test kits to the US last week. SolGent could not comment if these kits were included in the 600,000 Foreign Affairs Minister Kang referred to, and it is unclear how many of the 600,000 will be sent tomorrow.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that the coronavirus death toll has made him cry.

On Howard Stern's radio show this morning, Cuomo reiterated that President Trump has been accessible and quick to provide the state what it needs, adding that the President has also asked about the health of his brother, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.

He said of Trump: "He can be vicious in attacks. Again, he's a New Yorker, right? And he has felt the sharp end of the spear as a New Yorker, and he can attack," Cuomo said.

"The President has always makes a point of saying to me, 'how is Chris, is he doing okay,' and that's not in his usual character, you know. We are not chit-chatty when we are on the phone. But he always makes a point to say that about Chris and always remembers my mother," he said.

Cuomo said he talks to the President several times a week.

He was also asked about the conflicting messages on school closures between him and the New York City mayor Bill de Blasio – who has said he wants to keep schools closed until the end of the year – and reiterated that there is always a bit of tension between local and state government.

While he understands the position, Cuomo echoed his weekend comments that overall a uniform school closure policy is ideal. 

Black Americans are at a higher risk for coronavirus. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to begin addressing this by collecting the data first.

“There was a recorder of the information being put out by providers where they essentially skipped filling in race, ethnicity and other demographic information that was important for us to really measure the full impact,” she said.

Providing that information is now mandatory.

A racial-equity rapid response team comes next, where health care providers, public health officials and community-based organizations go into hyperlocal communities to research.

Lightfoot also criticized the Trump administration for its efforts to “kill the Affordable Care Act,” saying that coronavirus claims those with underlying conditions so health care should be more accessible to people.

“If you want to help this community, what you do is you expand access to affordable high-quality health care. You don’t try to kill it.”