The number of reported coronavirus deaths in New York shot up by 253 in a single day to just over 1,200, a number Gov. Andrew Cuomo called "staggering."
"That's a lot of loss, that's a lot of pain, that's a lot of tears, that's a lot of grief that people all across this state are feeling," the governor said at a briefing in Manhattan.
Cuomo sounded the mournful note even as a Navy hospital ship with 1,000 beds arrived in New York City.
State officials expect the number of deaths to continue to rise as the outbreak reaches its projected peak in the coming weeks.
"Whatever the numbers is, it's going to be staggering," Cuomo said. "We've lost over 1,000 New Yorkers."
"To me, we're beyond staggering already," he said.
The state has already confirmed more than 66,000 cases, mostly in New York City.
There are 9,500 people in New York currently hospitalized for COVID-19.
