New York City in the US has for the first time reported zero deaths related to COVID-19 since the main onset of the pandemic in the region in early March.
Preliminary data from the city’s health department showed that zero deaths were reported in the city on Saturday – just as cases were surging in other parts of the country.
The news of no deaths marked the end of a four-month stretch since the city – once the epicentre of the virus in the country – reported its first COVID-19 fatality on March 11 and marks a major improvement since 597 people died in the city on April 7th alone.
City officials have called New Yorkers the heroes of the story who have gone above and beyond to keep each other safe just as states around the country including Florida, Texas, Arizona and California struggle with new infections surging at record proportions. Fifty-eight thousand new cases were recorded nationwide in the last 24 hours.
The Governor of New York State Andrew Cuomo earlier warned that as case numbers rise in other parts of the country, that this may filter back to his state where numbers could again begin to rise.
In the video below, New York City schools to reopen in September:
