Democrat and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened to close down playgrounds, prohibiting any residents from playing any form of contact sports as the state continues to grapple with increasing COVID-19 patients.

During a press conference, the governor stressed out the importance of social distancing, as he continues to remind the public that there will be “no close contact sports in a playground.” The crisis had led him to say that if New Yorkers fail to comply with the guidelines, he will be forced to “close the playgrounds.”

He also shared that President Donald Trump’s health guideline to stay at home and to maintain a safe distance from everyone had been effective in slowing down the virus. “Slowing the hospitalization rates coming into the hospitals are everything so the hospitals can deal with the rate of people coming in,” Cuomo said.

The governor also urged everyone to take the pandemic seriously, especially for those who are healthy and are not at risk from the virus. “You may think that you’re a superhero. You’re really not,” Cuomo reminded. He continued to say that while people might remain asymptomatic, they can unknowingly transfer the virus and put people in danger, especially to their loved ones. Currently, the state expects to see more COVID-19 hospitalizations in the next 21 days until they reached the “apex.” If the state’s projection were to be accurate, they are looking at 140,000 hospital beds. As of the moment, the state only has a 53,000-bed capacity and is preparing to increase hospital capacity, which includes having more beds, staff, and medical equipment.

The problem is that New York might come closer to the “apex” sooner than the 21-day period that experts have predicted.

According to reports from Politico, The Department of Homeland Security received a report that New York City morgues are nearing their capacity as the influx of COVID-19 related deaths continue to come in. Based on the report, officials said that they were notified to expect full capacity next week.

However, an insider claimed that the morgues had already reached their maximum capacity seven days ago.

Aja Worthy-Davis, a spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), clarified the reports. Worthy-Davis stated that there is no valid reason for mortuaries to worry, citing that in Manhattan alone, one of the city’s five boroughs, OCME’s morgues can already accommodate up to 900 bodies.

The federal government can also provide immediate support. For example, during the 9/11 terrorist attack, the Bush administration was able to set up mobile stations as the mortuaries were filled up to capacity.

As of 12:17 AM, the state already has 33,066 total cases with 310 COVID-19 related deaths. A huge bulk of these confirmed cases at 20,011 came from New York City, while 3,675 came from New Jersey, and 618 cases from Connecticut.

The governor also assured that the state is closely working with the Trump administration to contain and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. In fact, despite the Dems’ accusations, Cuomo praised Trump and his staff for working around the clock and giving immediate response to the state’s needs.