"The curve is continuing to flatten," New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said in his Monday briefing on the state's efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19, but that glimmer of hope was tempered by news that 671 people had died from the virus in the state on Easter Sunday, bringing the state's death toll to over 10,000.
Nevertheless, the governor said social distancing and closures of nonessential businesses were working to prevent an even greater level of infection and loss of life. "We're controlling the spread," he said. "I believe the worst is over if we continue to be smart. . . ."
A three-day rolling average shows that hospital admissions across the state are down, intensive care unit admissions are down, and intubations are also down.
There were more than 195,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 across the state as of Sunday, 21,978 of them Suffolk County residents. Fifty people had died in the county on Sunday for a countywide total of 568, according to County Executive Steve Bellone.
There were 1,595 Covid-19 patients hospitalized in the county late Sunday, a decrease of 19 from the day before. Of those, 539 were in I.C.U. beds, a decrease of 9 from the day before. “We’re starting to see a leveling off of the strain and pressure on the system," Mr. Bellone said in his Monday afternoon briefing.
Rain and high winds on Monday forced the closure of drive-through testing sites across the county, but they were expected to reopen on Tuesday.
The governor on Monday praised New Yorkers for their hard work and sacrifices thus far, but he urged continued vigilance and cautioned that the gains could be reversed "with two or three days of reckless behavior."
"There is going to be no epiphany . . . no morning when the headline says 'Hallelujah, It's Over,' " the governor said. "When there's a vaccine, that's when it's really over . . . but there will be points between now and then where we should feel more confident."
Governor Cuomo and the governors of New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Massachusetts announced on Monday that their seven states would begin to work cooperatively on a regional plan to ease restrictions in order to reopen the economy, sharing information and intelligence as they work toward that goal. An economic recovery can only come on the back of a public health recovery, New Jersey Gov. Philip D. Murphy stressed. "This is the fight of our lives," he said, "and reopening ourselves back up is going to be equally challenging."
With Reporting by Jamie Bufalino