‘Four fifths of coronavirus patients who need ventilators will end up dead’

The grim statistic was shared by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at a press conference on Wednesday

Fourth fifths of coronavirus patients who require a ventilator to keep them breathing will end up dying of Covid-19, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned.

Governor Cuomo offered the grim prediction at his daily press conference on Wednesday, as states across his country and governments worldwide struggle to build and boost their supplies of the life-saving breathing equipment.

Governor Cuomo said: (The New York coronavirus death toll) is people who have been on a ventilator for a period of time.

‘If you go on a ventilator there is only a 20% chance you will come off it.’

Cuomo offered the stark warning as he revealed 7,900 more people have been diagnosed in New York overnight, with 391 more people dying of Covid-19 overnight.

He highlighted a model produced by Microsoft founder Bill Gates warning that up to 100,000 Americans will die, with around 16,000 of those fatalities taking place in New York itself.

And Governor Cuomo also appeared to make a dig at President Trump’s hopeful claims that the US could beat the pandemic within the next month, saying: ‘You cannot be divorced from the facts, otherwise you go to a place of irrationality.’

‘Facts are facts. And the fact that we offer the people of this state and the people of this country, they’re not pessimistic facts or optimistic facts…They are just the best information we have as of this time. I think that is empowering.’

New York state has now seen a total of 1,941 Covid-19 deaths, with 83,712 people diagnosed with coronavirus.