Flags Ordered to Half-Staff as NYS COVID-19 Deaths Rise

Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered flags in New York to fly at half-staff as the number of people who have died in the state due to the coronavirus increased by nearly 800 people in a 24-hour period.

Cuomo Wednesday announced the state's COVID-19 death toll had risen to 6,268. He said 779 more people had died over the past day.

The governor said "the bad news is actually terrible." He noted more than twice as many people now have died as a result of coronavirus as had died in the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center.

Cuomo said it appears there has been "a little flattening" of the curve of new cases over the last several days. He said New Yorkers must "remain diligent and disciplined moving forward" despite some early indications of progress.

The governor said "we are by no means out of the woods." He also said although the number of new COVID-19 cases may be reduced, "it may never be zero."

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com

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