The coronavirus killed city residents at a rate of more than one per hour on Friday.
Between just 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., 14 people in New York City died from the virus, pushing the Big Apple’s total death toll to 43.
The toll had been 29 prior to Friday’s jump in deaths.
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It was the first time that the city’s single-day toll had hit double digits.
And the city’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, warned New Yorkers that double-digit daily deaths may well become the new normal, at least for a time.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to a day when we have double-digits new people dying every day,” she said at a City Hall press conference Friday afternoon.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to a day when we have double-digits new people dying every day.”
— Dr. Oxiris Barbot, New York City health commissioner
During that eight-hour period Friday the city’s positive cases also climbed from 5,151 to 5,683.
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At 1,750 Brooklyn has the most COVID-19 cases followed by 1,514 in Queens, 1,402 in Manhattan, 736 in the Bronx, and 285 in Staten Island.
Authorities attribute at least part of the jump to increased testing capacity.
