US: New York coronavirus deaths top 10,000

WASHINGTON

The U.S. state of New York has seen over 10,000 coronavirus-related deaths, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

Speaking at his daily news conference, Cuomo said 10,056 people have died. But he voiced cautious optimism, saying "I think you can say the worst is over."

"The curve continues to flatten," he said. "It appears that we have a plateau."

The increase in the number of hospitalizations has slowed down with new daily admissions "only going up a little bit," as Cuomo cautioned "nobody knows how long" it will take for the state to begin to see a decrease.

New York state recorded 671 deaths due to COVID-19 complications on Sunday, down from the daily record of 799 set on April 8. The decrease is in line with the general trend that has occurred since the daily high was reached last week.

Cuomo said he and other state governors are going to be announcing a tentative plan designed by health experts to gradually reopen their states later Monday.

"Anyone who says to you, 'Oh I know what we should do. I know.' Yeah, you don't know, because nobody knows, and that's the one thing we have learned over and over again," he said.

Still, he said that whatever plan is implemented would benefit heavily from extensive regional coordination.

"The optimum is to have as coordinated a regional plan as you can," he said."I believe we can now start on the path to normalcy."