SIENNA POLL SHOWS MOST NEW YORKERS EXPECT CORONAVIRUS TO WORSEN

I saw this Sienna College poll this morning on how New Yorkers feel about Covid-19.

Some results:

62% think the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is still to come while 27% feel the worst is over.

70% say the government's main priority should be to stop the spread of the disease even if it hurts the economy while 22% would make the economy a priority even if it increases the risk to public health.

90% are wearing masks outside of the home.

On the topic of schools reopening in September, 18% say that it is very likely, 46% say somewhat likely, 26% say not very likely and 7% say not at all likely (3% didn't know or refused to answer).

That means 64% think the schools will be opening up for the fall but 62% believe the worst of the pandemic is still to come. Something odd there but it makes sense as to where we are now.

NYC reported zero deaths for a day for the first time since the pandemic raged out of control in March.

From Bloomberg:

New York City, once the epicenter of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak, has just reported its first day with zero confirmed or probable virus deaths since the pandemic hit New York State.

The milestone came Sunday in initial data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

It marked the end of a four-month stretch since the city reported its first Covid-19 fatality on March 11. The confirmed daily death count hit its height on April 7 at 597. Another 216 people were reported likely to have died from the virus despite no positive laboratory tests that day.

That's good news but before we let our guard down, even Governor Andrew Cuomo sees the virus increasing in NY again.

From Gothamist:

Governor Andrew Cuomo predicted New York and other northeastern states would see an increase in virus cases in the coming weeks.

Speaking with WAMC's Alan Chartock, the governor explained that he felt a rebound was inevitable given the spike in cases elsewhere.

"It’s gonna come back here. It’s like being on a merry-go-round," he said, adding, "I can feel it coming."

The only question, he said, was how high the state's infection rate would rise.

It is not clear whether Cuomo was basing his forecast on the data or discussions with public health officials. As of Thursday, the positivity rate of tests performed statewide was 1.06 percent. New York's positivity rate has generally hovered around 1 percent.

In an effort to prevent the virus from coming from other places, New York has imposed a 14-day quarantine on travelers from states with high infections, a list that has grown from eight to 19 in just two and a half weeks. But some have questioned the state's ability to enforce such a policy. Cuomo has spoken about ramping up checks of passengers at local airports, as well as the possibility of New Yorkers ratting on those who fail to quarantine.

But on Friday, he conceded that screening out-of-state travelers, such as drivers, was difficult.

"It's like trying to catch water in a screen," he said.

We can be optimistic or pessimistic depending on how one wants to look at all of these numbers.