Cuomo: New York may be hitting coronavirus apex as state deaths dip slightly

An additional 594 New Yorkers have died from the coronavirus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday — a still staggering toll, but actually the first daily decline in some time, as hospitalizations also dropped.

By comparison, 630 fatalities were reported Saturday in the worst day yet.

A total of 4,159 New Yorkers have now been lost to the contagion out of 122,031 confirmed cases, said Cuomo, who advised more caution than optimism.

“The coronavirus is truly vicious and effective,” he said in his now-daily Albany press briefing. “It’s an effective killer.”

Speculating as to what could account for the statistical “blip,” Cuomo suggested that New York may now be hitting the disease’s apex, which could be taking the form of a leveling out more than a sharp peak.

“The apex could be a plateau and we could be on that plateau now,” he said, adding the trajectory would be more clear in a few days.

In another possible glimmer of hope, the number of new hospitalizations nearly halved on Sunday, to a level not seen in over a week.

A total of 574 new hospitalizations were reported Sunday, as compared to 1,095 on Saturday — itself a dip from the 1,427 tallied Friday.

The last time that fewer than 600 new hospitalizations were reported was March 22, with 586.

“That’s partially a function of more people being discharged,” he said. “And that’s great news.”

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