Cuomo proposes hazard pay for coronavirus frontline workers after reporting another 478 deaths in N.Y.

Gov. Cuomo called on the federal government Monday to boost wages for healthcare workers, cops, firefighters and others on the front lines of the battle against the coronavirus outbreak, as another 478 New Yorkers died overnight from the respiratory contagion.

In his daily briefing from Albany, Cuomo said Congress should ensure that the next COVID-19 emergency funding package bankrolls a 50% hazard pay bonus for all workers that fit into the “essential” employment category

“Thanks is nice, but recognition of their efforts and their sacrifice is appropriate,” Cuomo said. “They’re the ones that are carrying us through this crisis.”

In addition to first responders and hospital staff, essential workers include grocery store clerks, teachers and transit workers, among others.

The governor noted that a large number of those workers are people of color.

Cuomo’s request for more funds came after another 478 people in New York died from the virus between Sunday and Monday, bringing the state’s confirmed COVID-19 death toll to 14,347.

Twenty-three of the latest victims died in nursing homes, which have been particularly hard-hit, according to data released by the New York State Department of Health.

The Big Apple continues to suffer the worst consequences of New York’s outbreak, with 9,101 confirmed COVID-19 deaths as of Sunday, according to the city Health Department.