Irondequoit, N.Y. — New deaths due to coronavirus in New York fell below 200 on Sunday for the first time since March 26.
Another 161 people in the state died on Sunday, bringing the statewide death toll to 21,639. It was less than 1,000 in late March.
Though thousands have died since that time, new deaths have been declining since reaching a peak of 800 on April 14, according to revised state data.
New deaths fell below 500 on April 22, below 400 on April 29 and below 300 on May 3 for the first time in weeks. Single-day deaths have been below 300 for eight days straight.
New York has 337,055 confirmed cases of the virus, including 1,660 new cases.
“We see all the arrows are pointed in the right direction,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a press briefing in Irondequoit, near Rochester. “We’re coming out of the other side.”
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Data points the state tracks on hospitalizations continue to improve. The net changes in hospitalizations and intubations were both negative again on Sunday, where they have been for weeks now.
The total number of people hospitalized due to the virus is down to 7,226 from a peak of over 18,000 for multiple days in April. The three-day average of new hospitalizations due to the virus was 488 on Sunday, down from a peak of over 2,000 in late March and early April, including several days over 3,000.
The more positive trends show the state’s efforts to control the virus are working, Cuomo has said. Nonessential businesses and schools in New York have been closed since March to help slow the spread of the pandemic.
Cuomo said earlier in May that schools in New York will remain closed through the end of the current academic year. But businesses in some areas, including Central New York, may soon be able to start reopening.
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