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By Bernadette Hogan and Aaron Feis
\nNew York Post<\/p>\n
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The number of confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus has climbed to 20,875 statewide \u2014 including more than 5,000 new cases today \u2014 and 12,305 in New York City, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.<\/p>\n
The grim toll also includes 157 deaths in the Empire State \u2014 representing more than a third of the 463 deaths nationwide \u2014 as well as 5,707 new state cases compared to Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see it as a wave that will break at one point, and the question is, what is the point of the break?\u201d said Cuomo. \u201cWhen the wave breaks, does it crash over the health care system?\u201d<\/p>\n
To help ease the strain on New York\u2019s already overtaxed hospital system, Cuomo announced an executive order asking registered nurses statewide to enlist to combat the contagion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re saying we want to enlist you to help,\u201d said Cuomo, noting that so far, the state has received over 30,000 responses.<\/p>\n
Cuomo also asked insurance companies to shift their staff nurses to the front lines of the fight, which he\u2019d previously said could\u00a0drag into 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would like them to help in hospitals, because this is not about assessing insurance claims,\u201d he said. \u201cAt this point, this is about saving lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Later Monday, Cuomo will tour Manhattan\u2019s Javits Center, where he has asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish four temporary hospitals, adding a cumulative 1,000 beds to the state total of 53,000 beds.<\/p>\n President Trump indicated Sunday that FEMA will indeed\u00a0establish four hospitals<\/a>\u00a0in the state.<\/p>\n The projected trajectory of the disease indicates that the state will need 110,000 beds, Cuomo has said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot handle the wave at the high point,\u201d he said. \u201cThe wave has to come down.\u201d<\/p>\n