New York [USA], Mar 8 : Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday (local time) declared a state of emergency after the number of novel coronavirus cases in New York surged to 76.
"I am declaring a State of Emergency for New York amid an outbreak of #Coronavirus," Cuomo said in a tweet.
According to the Governor, as many as 11 cases of the coronavirus were reported in New York City, and 57 cases in Westchester County. While four cases were confirmed in Nassau County, two cases each were reported each from Rockland County and Saratoga County.
"The declaration of emergency will allow the state to speed up the purchasing of supplies and the hiring of workers to assist local health departments that have been handling the monitoring of thousands of self-quarantined patients," The New York Times quoted Cuomo as saying.
He added that the declaration would also allow officials to skirt purchasing regulations, if necessary.
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has meanwhile touched 100,000, with more than 90 countries reporting infections, which began in China in December.
( With inputs from ANI )