Andrew Cuomo: Recent New York Coronavirus Cases Lowest Since Onset

The number of new coronavirus cases per day in New York State is down, bringing the Empire State to a level “lower than when we first began,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Friday.

“News is good today. Hospitalizations are down. Net change in hospitalizations is down. Number of new cases per day is down,” Cuomo announced. “This is a level now that is lower than when we first began, so that’s good”:

JUST IN: New COVID-19 cases in New York State are lowest since start of outbreak, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says. "This is a level now that is lower than when we first began." https://t.co/aCG7eIdIbL pic.twitter.com/PblSyOiJQX

— ABC News (@ABC) May 22, 2020

While the number of fatalities are “painfully high” at any number, that number has also been descending, Cuomo stated. There were 109 reported deaths on Thursday, nearly one-third of which occurred in nursing homes:

"You see that this number has been stubborn on its way down," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says as 109 more people in the state have died from COVID-19. https://t.co/aCG7eIdIbL pic.twitter.com/fpNy1gvrMP

— ABC News (@ABC) May 22, 2020

Cuomo emphasized the importance of reopening the state in a “smart” way and said it must be phased by metrics — testing, tracing, isolations, and sufficient hostile capacity.

“So all your actions are based on data,” he said, announcing that the Long Island and Mid-Hudson regions will be permitted to reopen if deaths continue to decrease.

Cuomo’s reports coincide with other states and hospital systems, which have reported declines in hospitalizations and cases.

Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) announced this week, for example, that it has experienced a “steep decline” in patients hospitalized with the coronavirus:

New York State reported 361,313 cases and 28,663 deaths as of Friday morning.