'Life and death': NY governor's COVID-19 message for Australia

New Yorkers and tourists alike have received the message loud and clear – and so far, it appears to be working.

State authorities have been working hard at reducing "density" in the heavily-populated city, mandating stay-at-home policies, physical distancing, and closing schools.

And now, evidence shows that over a period of just three days, hospitalisation rates slowed significantly.

The number of hospitalisations was doubling every two days, but then decreased to every five days. This follows weeks of New Yorkers listening to and following the advice given by health experts.

Governor Cuomo told A Current Affair the lesson for Australia was simple.

"It is as serious as life and death – my advice would be act sooner and act more dramatically," he said.

"Don't procrastinate – there'll be people who say this is too dire, it won't be that bad, this is media hype. They are wrong. They are wrong."

The road ahead for New York is a long one, with a disproportionately huge number of Americans infected with COVID-19 – and the governor has revealed it's predicted New York State won't see the peak of this pandemic for up to three weeks.