- New York City has become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the US.
- The city has reported more than 36,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 800 deaths since its first case was confirmed on March 1.
- The number of new confirmed cases in New York City each day remains in the thousands, with more than 2,700 new cases reported on Monday morning.
- New York City’s epidemic curve looks like a steep staircase – an indication its outbreak is still growing.
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More than 36,000 coronavirus cases – nearly 25% of the US’s total – have been reported across New York City’s five boroughs. Almost 800 New York residents – one-quarter of the American fatalities – have died since the city’s first reported case on March 1.
Comparing New York City’s daily summaries of COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations shows how quickly the city’s coronavirus outbreak is escalating. In the last two weeks, between March 16 and 30, the number of cases in New York City jumped from 464 to 36,220.
More than 2,700 new cases were reported on Monday morning, and another 2,700 were reported the day before. New York’s epidemic curve looks like a steep staircase.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order on March 20 mandating that all nonessential businesses keep their workers at home, instructing people across New York to stay home and practice social distancing. It went into effect on March 22.
The US's epidemic curve mirrors that of New York City
The US has the world's highest number of coronavirus cases. Its outbreak appears to be getting worse - each day brings an equal or higher number of new confirmed cases than the one before.
For a month or so following the first confirmed US case on January 20, the number of reported cases remained low: less than 15 (this number is dependent on testing, however, which was initially delayed and limited in the US). Then on February 28 - the day after the US' first case of community spread was reported - the number of cases started to rise each day, and that trend hasn't stopped.
Between March 10 and March 13, the number of new US cases tripled - in part due to an increase in testing in state and private labs around the country. Between March 16 and 20, the number of cases tripled again, from about 5,600 to more than 16,600. The last 10 days have brought nearly a 10-fold increase: Between March 20 and 30, the number of cases jumped from about 16,600 to more than 153,000.
About one-third of those cases have been reported in New York state, and of the more than 2,500 Americans who've died, one-quarter were in New York City.
Ruobing Su contributed reporting to this story.
