An 82-year-old woman with respiratory issues who contracted the coronavirus has died in a New York City hospital Friday night after an 11-day illness, the area's first virus fatality, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.
"We had last night a death in a New York City hospital of an 82-year-old woman who had coronavirus," Cuomo said, per the New York Post. "She came into the hospital on March 3.
"She contracted the coronavirus on top of emphysema, then she passed."
New York has become the U.S. epicenter of coronavirus, having surpassed Washington state with the most cases.
"Numbers are spiking because our testing capacity is going up," according to Cuomo on Friday.
After New York did 700 tests, per Cuomo, the state now has 524 cases, an increase of 100 in a day, and 117 patients are hospitalized, per the report.
The cases are being analyzed by "disease detectives" in order to curb the community spread and save lives, Cuomo said, per the Post.
Cuomo projected New York will see 1,000 more cases in a week.