New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state is likely to see a similar spread of COVID-19 as China, South Korea and Italy, where the new coronavirus has millions of people under lockdown and has shuttered commerce.

"I've said the same thing to you every day for the past three weeks, I think. You are going to see these numbers are going to go up," Cuomo said during a press conference Thursday.

"What makes you think that the virus in China, the virus in South Korea, the virus in Italy wasn't going to react any differently than the virus here?" he said. "You are going to see the same trajectory that you saw in China, South Korea and Italy, and it is going to happen here as the virus spreads because of the way it is actually contagious."