New York — Hospitalizations due to the coronavirus in New York fell again on Sunday and the positive testing rate for the virus remained around 1%.
The news also remains good across all regions. There are no warning signs or trouble spots anywhere in the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today during a press conference in New York City.
“We did the impossible as New Yorkers,” he said. “Now we just have to stay there. We have to protect the progress that we have made.”
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Hospitalizations fell to 716, down six from the day before. The total remains at its lowest level since late March.
Hospitalizations peaked at more than 18,000 over multiple days in April.
The percentage of those testing positive for the virus was 1.05% on Sunday. The rate had crept up to 1.5% at one point earlier last week.
In Central New York, the positive testing rate was 0.6% on Sunday. It has been less than 1% three of the last five days.
State officials are watching the positive testing rate carefully. It must be below 5% for a region to get clearance to reopen schools in the fall.
Another eight people in New York died due to the virus on Sunday, bringing the statewide death toll to 25,056. New deaths peaked at 800 on April 14.
The state now has 407,326 confirmed cases of the virus after conducting another 49,342 tests on Sunday. A total of 519, or 1.05%, came back positive.
Georgia trip
Cuomo spoke today from John F. Kennedy International Airport before flying to Savannah, Georgia. He said he would talk with local officials there about building systems to test for the virus and trace contacts of infected individuals.
He also said the state is sending protective equipment to the city, which is located about 250 miles southeast of Atlanta.
Cuomo has made several announcements lately about help New York is providing to other states and cities hit hard by the pandemic. He previously discussed efforts to help Atlanta, Houston and Florida.
When asked, Cuomo said he won’t quarantine for 14 days once he returns to New York. Georgia is on New York’s quarantine list, but Cuomo said he’s exempt as an essential worker.
The quarantine policy also includes an exemption if a traveler is in a state on the quarantine list for less than 24 hours, Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa said. Cuomo will return to New York later today.
RELATED: 4 more states added to New York coronavirus quarantine list
New York in June began requiring 14-day self-quarantines for travelers from a number of states where the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly.
More criticism for feds
Cuomo has been criticizing the federal government routinely in recent weeks over the national response to the pandemic. He said the government is still in denial.
“I’ve said to the president from day one, this virus does not respond to politics,” Cuomo said. “It doesn’t respond to bullying. It doesn’t response to rhetoric ... The solution is medicine and science.”
“This is so unnecessary that we are here. It did not have to be this way.”
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