Coronavirus New York Update: CDC Official Says Spike In Cases Just A Preview, Warning For Other Areas

An official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that the astonishing spike in coronaviruses cases in New York City is “just a preview.”

Speaking exclusively to The Hill on Thursday, Dr. Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy director of the CDC, said the number of cases in New York City are already beginning to increase and this is a warning for other places in the country.

“We're looking at our flu syndromic data, our respiratory illness that presents at emergency departments. Across the country there's a number of areas that are escalating. The numbers in New York are so large that they show up, but we're looking at increases over time and we're really seeing some in a number of places. It would be surprising to me based on what I've seen about how this virus spreads if it were not going to increase in many other parts of the country,” Schuchat told The Hill.

“I think what we're seeing in New York City and New York state right now is a real warning to other areas about what may happen or what may already be starting to happen,” she added.

She added that efforts should be made to ensure that the health care system in the country is ready.

“Everything that I'm seeing today suggests to me that we need to take this virus very seriously, and that we have to be absolutely sure that our health care system in diverse geographies is ready for increased burden, and that we have good systems to detect, track, isolate and reduce the spread of continued new cases. So I would be very reluctant to let up on measures in the nation as a whole. There are probably geographies where the virus hasn't yet arrived in great force but where the health care system needs to be prepared for it,” Schuchat told The Hill.

The surveillance system used by the agency to detect a sudden increase in patients who show flu-like symptoms at emergency rooms is now flashing red lights in several states in the United States.

“There's just dozens of places we're watching. We really need to expect that the whole country's at risk here, and we have to look across our health care system within each jurisdiction to have them be as strong as possible,” she told The Hill.

Meanwhile, New York is the worst-hit state in the country as it accounted for 30% of all deaths in the United States as of Thursday. Meanwhile, there were 23,112 confirmed cases and 365 deaths in the New York City as of Thursday evening. The hospitals in the state are also battling a surging toll of dead and infected as Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the hospitals to increase their capacity by at least 50%.