An 82-year old New York woman with pre-existing health issues died after contracting the coronavirus, becoming the first confirmed death in the state due to the pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.
New York, along with Washington and California, is one of the states with the highest number of confirmed cases. The state has 524 cases of the virus, Cuomo confirmed. Though, he predicts there are many more: "My guess is there are thousands and thousands of cases walking around the state of New York."
The governor has been harshly critical of the federal governments response to the coronavirus, at one point describing it as "absurd and nonsensical."
New York state has set up a drive through testing center in New Rochelle, a suburb of New York City that has seen a major outbreak. Cuomo deployed the National Guard and created a one-mile containment area in New Rochelle earlier this week.
He also announced a ban on gatherings of 500 or more people across the state "for the foreseeable future" on Thursday.