Mr. Trump denied on Sunday that the prospect of a quarantine was a threat. “I didn’t go around threatening,” he said during a White House briefing.
He raised the idea because the region has the most confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, but he offered no details about how his administration would enforce it. Mr. Cuomo later questioned whether the federal government had the authority to order a quarantine.
“Yes, New York is the epicenter and these are different times, and many people are frightened,” Mr. Cuomo said on Sunday. “Some of the reactions you get from individuals, even from governments, are frightening and suggesting that they’ll take abrupt actions against New York. But look, this is New York and we are going to make it through this.”
As of Sunday evening, at least 141,096 people across every state, plus Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories, have tested positive for the virus, according to a New York Times database. At least 2,469 patients with the virus have died. And at least 20 states now have more than 1,000 known cases within their borders.
New York remains by far the hardest hit. On Sunday, Mr. Cuomo said the total number of cases in New York was 59,513, an increase of nearly 7,200 confirmed from the day before. More than half of the cases, or 33,768, are in New York City.
The number of deaths in the state passed 1,000, up 272 from the day before — the largest one-day increase in deaths since the outbreak began.
