NEW YORK NOW - Only five people died from COVID-19 in New York Saturday, marking the first time since the peak of the disease in April that the daily number of deaths statewide dropped to single digits, following several weeks of decline.
Hospitalizations from the disease also dropped Saturday, bringing the total number of people requiring treatment for the disease down to 869. Of those, 145 are intubated.
The numbers have continued to trend in a positive direction in recent weeks, but New York isn’t out of the woods yet: 616 new cases of the coronavirus were diagnosed Saturday out of 61,906 tests conducted statewide.
All but two regions of the state reported a decline in the share of positive cases out of those tested Saturday. The Mohawk Valley and North Country reported a slight uptick, according to the data.
Those regions are two out of five that entered Phase Four of reopening this weekend. Along with the Mohawk Valley and North Country, Central New York, the Southern Tier, and the Finger Lakes all entered Phase Four as well.
If there isn’t an uptick in the disease in the coming days, it’s likely that the Capital Region and Western New York will also enter Phase Four this week, but that hasn't been formally announced.
Long Island and the Mid-Hudson Region will likely have to wait at least another week and a half before they enter Phase Four. New York City is in Phase Two.
Cuomo, appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, said the state is still waiting to make a decision on whether schools will reopen in the fall. New York moved schools to distance learning through the end of the summer, but it’s possible they’ll reopen in the fall.