New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday extended an order closing businesses and schools by two weeks until at least May 15 in coordination with other states in the region, and said New Yorkers should wear masks on buses, taxis and trains.
NY shutdown extended to May 15th: Cuomo
The number of people hospitalized for the novel coronavirus and related deaths in New York fell to their lowest levels in more than a week, adding to evidence that the hardest-hit state was controlling its spread, he said.
Cuomo, who has emerged as a leading national voice on the pandemic, said the improvement in key metrics reflected social distancing efforts which had brought the state's infection rate low enough to control the outbreak.
The governor said that a total of 17,735 people were hospitalized across New York because of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, down from 18,335 a day earlier and the lowest since April 6.
Intubations and admissions to intensive care units also declined, he said.
"The good news is it means we can control the virus.
We can control the spread," Cuomo told reporters.
"And we did not know for sure that we could do that."