New York deaths “tragically high” but lowest daily toll of April

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that New York had recorded 337 new deaths related to coronavirus, the lowest statewide daily death toll in April. The total was down from 367 a day earlier and the lowest daily death toll since March 30.

Cuomo called the new death toll “still tragically high, but on the decline.”

The governor also said his stay-at-home order will likely be extended beyond May 15 in many parts of the state. But he added that restrictions could be eased in some parts if they have sufficient hospital capacity and meet other criteria.

A new poll released by the Siena College Research Institute shows 46% of New Yorkers said they personally knew someone who had died from COVID-19. About 60% said that they knew someone who had tested positive.

The poll, which surveyed 803 registered state voters between April 19 and 23, found that 87% percent were in favor of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s decision to extend New York’s lockdown until at least May 15.

Cuomo also said Monday that the number of statewide random antibody tests has expanded to 7,500, which reveals a better picture of the extent of coronavirus spread in New York. He said 14.9% of those tested statewide tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, which is up from the initial 13.9% statewide when a previous sample of 3,000 people was done on April 22. Cuomo said the 1% increase is statistically in the margin of error.

The governor said he’s going to conduct antibody surveys of 1,000 NYPD and FDNY personnel to determine the infection rate in those organizations. A similar survey will be done with 3,000 health care workers and 1,000 transit workers.

“We want to un-pause. May 15 is when the pause regulations expire statewide. I will extend them in many parts of the state. But in some parts of the state, some regions, you can make the case that we should un-pause on May 15. But you have to be smart about it,” Cuomo said. “Start thinking through what it means to reopen.”