This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Saturday, May 23rd, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

Read our guide to understanding New York on PAUSE, NY's stay-at-home order, as well as what the upstate reopening means; a look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is ourregularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's what you need to know:

Update 2:15 p.m. The number of COVID-19 deaths in the state has dropped into double-digits for the first time in nearly two months, Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his daily briefing on Saturday, calling the trend “real progress.”

On May 22nd, the state recorded 87 deaths, which Cuomo still called "a tragedy," but acknowledged its silver lining.

“But the fact that it’s down as low as it is is really, overall good news,” said Cuomo.

Other metrics continued heading downward, including total hospitalizations and new hospitalizations of COVID-19 cases.

With the encouraging trends, the Mid-Hudson Valley counties and Long Island could enter Phase 1 of reopening next week if local governments there onboard contact tracers, Cuomo said.

That includes Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan and Ulster counties, which are all seeing a decline in death rates.

The Mid-Hudson Valley has identified enough contact tracers and if they can be trained over the weekend, the region can enter Phase 1 on Tuesday and Long Island on Wednesday, Cuomo said.

“The number of deaths are dropping -- that continues. We also have to get the tracing online. But at this rate, we could open by Wednesday, if the number of deaths continues to decline and we get that tracing up so that is also very good news,” Cuomo said of Long Island.

Phase 1 allows non-essential construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and retail (if they have curbside pickup) to reopen. Florists, shoe and clothing stores, sporting goods and other retailers are included in this phase for delivery, in-store and curbside pickup.

Cuomo once again cautioned against reopening too soon, pointing to a rise in cases in southern states. “What you're seeing across the rest of the country, in many other states you've seen the numbers go up,” he said. “They're talking about a possible second wave in the South, which may have reopened too fast and too aggressively. They're talking about a higher number of deaths in California. How these counties reopen, how states reopened, they can make all the difference. 24 states suggest that you may still have uncontrolled spread,” he added. “So don't underestimate this virus. We know that it can rear its ugly head at any moment.”

To date, Cuomo has reopened the Capital Region, Western New York, Central New York, North Country, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley Regions. The state’s PAUSE order has been extended through May 28th for regions that have not started reopening, including New York City.

Trump Says Houses Of Worship Are Essential And Must Open "Right Now"

President Donald Trump said that houses of worship should be reopened, and claimed his authority outweighed those of governors. "The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important essential places of faith to open right now, this weekend. If they don't do it, I will override the governors," he said during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Friday afternoon.

"In America, we need more prayer, not less," he continued.

Trump had also said, "Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics essential, but have left out churches and houses of worship. It's not right. So I'm correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential." The NY Times reports that Trump "[read] from a prepared text before leaving after just about a minute without taking questions."

According to Politico, "It is unclear whether the president is legally empowered to compel the nation’s governors to take such an action. If the White House moves to enforce his order in defiance of opposition by local officials, Trump could force a constitutional clash over one of the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment."

On Thursday, New York allowed religious gatherings of 10 or fewer people to resume—with proper social distancing and disinfection measures. That decision triggered a First Amendment lawsuit that then led to Governor Andrew Cuomo to issue a new executive order on Friday allowing all non-essential gatherings of 10 or fewer people—with proper social distancing and disinfection measures.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy spoke to Trump on Friday, and a Murphy spokesperson, Alyana Alfaro, told NJ.com they "had a productive discussion on the need to continue to move forward intelligently regarding religious services as New Jersey continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic." However, New Jersey's current rules, allowing for indoor gatherings of 10 or fewer people; or outdoor gatherings of 25 or fewer people, still stand.

"While the Governor’s orders will remain in effect, this matter continues to be under serious consideration as New Jersey moves toward Phase 2," Alfaro said to NJ.com.

Both New York and New Jersey are allowing drive-in services.

After the president's remarks, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany "said the decision to reopen based on the new federal guidance is "up to the governors.'"

The focus on houses of worship comes after the Associated Press reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had sent guidance for reopening houses of worship to the White House, but the plans were "shelved" by Trump officials. The White House then decided to release them, after the AP article. (Here's the CDC's guidance.)

The CDC also published a detailed report about how an Arkansas church was the center of an outbreak: "Among 92 attendees at a rural Arkansas church during March 6–11, 35 (38%) developed laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, and three persons died. Highest attack rates were in persons aged 19–64 years (59%) and ≥65 years (50%). An additional 26 cases linked to the church occurred in the community, including one death."

This past week, two churches, one in Georgia and one in Texas, were forced to close after parishioners tested positive for coronavirus.

"You have to be careful, it depends on the particular state, city, region, county that you're in, and what the dynamics of the outbreak are," Dr. Anthony Fauci, another member of the White House task force and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said to The Hill in an interview. "So if you're in an area where there's a relatively little infection, as there are in certain regions of the country, versus an area where there is still a high degree of infection, how you approach what you do in houses of worship really varies."