Governor Andrew Cuomo on Saturday disclosed -- for the first time in weeks -- that COVID-19's one-day fatality numbers in New York were down below 100. Hospitalizations, intubations and even new cases of coronavirus infections have all dropped, he said.
Eighty-four people have perished late Friday from the disease in New York, Cuomo said, down from the 109 figure from the previous day. Sixty-two of the COVID-19 patients on Friday died in hospitals while 22 perished in nursing homes, Cuomo said.
According to the governor, as per CBS news report, 84 is still "a tragedy," adding that "but the fact it is down as low as it is, is good news."
During its worst moments, the state's one-day death toll from the virus was near the 800 mark for many consecutive days last month. New York City reached its peak fatality figures on April 7, when around 590 people died in a single day.
New York state used to be the ground zero of the US COVID-19 outbreak, with over 28,000 fatalities, based on record by Johns Hopkins University. The US has the highest death figure from the disease at 96,000. The United Kingdom is at second with over 36,000 deaths.
The governor stated the 84 deaths that have occurred on the 84th consecutive day of the state's pandemic crisis and underscored a critical milestone that he had hoped for -- finally fell below 100 deaths in one day.
In another indication of positive development that heavily-ravaged New York is finally rebounding from the health disaster, the governor said that Long Island may start reopening for business this week.
On Long Island, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran disclosed that she has been in discussions with Cuomo regarding the Phase 1 reopening and stated that her community is prepared for it.
Parts of New York state that logged fewer cases of COVID-19 have already started to loosen lockdown orders. New York City's beaches will remain shut for the Memorial Day weekend. These places are being reopened in other parts of the state, often with beach-goers required to remain vigilant by wearing face masks and observe physical distancing.
New York has recorded the most number of deaths of any US state; followed by New Jersey, where 10,984 individuals have perished. The US as a whole has notched the most fatalities of any nation by far, the Johns Hopkins University reported.
The governor issued a surprise order on Friday to allow public gatherings of up to 10 people for any "lawful purpose." Cuomo was trying to relax an earlier policy that authorized only religious services and Memorial Day festivities, after a civil liberties organization filed a lawsuit to object.
