Watch live: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio holds a press conference on the coronavirus outbreak

By | April 2, 2020

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Bill de Blasio is holding a press conference Wednesday to update the public on the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 51,800 people in New York City.

New York City is the epicenter of the outbreak in U.S., which has the largest concentration of cases in the world. On Wednesday, de Blasio said the city needs to find 3.3 million N95 masks, 2.1 million surgical masks, 100,000 isolation gowns and 400 ventilators by Sunday to get the city’s hospitals ready for a coming wave of coronavirus patients expected by Monday.

The city estimates it will need a minimum of 2,500 to 3,000 additional ventilators over the next week, he said, adding that NYC would ship ventilators to other parts of the country as soon as they aren’t needed in New York.

“We’re going to need the masks, the N95s, gowns. Every single week we are going to need more of that,” he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he would close playgrounds in the city after warning residents to abide by new rules designed to reduce density and help curb the outbreak. Local parks will remain open so people can get outside and exercise, he said.

Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 1 million people and has killed at least 50,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In the U.S., the coronavirus has infected at least 236,300 people and has killed at least 5,607.

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