On National Nurses Day, I want to take a moment to commend all the nurses who give care and aid tirelessly and bravely during this crisis. Every day nurses work impossible hours in battle with a virus that challenges medical knowledge and strategy — they are extraordinary individuals who have done a phenomenal job. And we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.
 
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
 
1. The state has learned new insights about the patients being hospitalized with COVID-19 from a survey of hospitals. New York received 1,269 survey responses from 113 hospitals over three days. Of the newly hospitalized patients, 66% were at home before they were admitted, compared to 18% who had been in nursing homes, 4% in assisted living and less than one percent from jails or prisons. Only 4% of respondents reported having used public transportation.
 
2. The number of new COVID hospitalizations continues to fall. Yesterday, the number of new COVID hospitalizations fell to 601, down from 659 the day before. Total hospitalizations fell to 9,179 from 9,600 the day before. Tragically, we lost an additional 232 New Yorkers to COVID-19 yesterday. 
 
3. The Kansan farmer who sent New York an N-95 mask was conferred a bachelor's degree. I recently received a heart-warming letter accompanied by an N-95 mask from retired Kansas farmer Dennis Ruhnke, which touched my heart. Yesterday, Kansas State University President Richard Myers and Kansas Governor Laura Kelly honored him with the bachelor's degree he was two credits shy of earning when he left school in 1971 to take care of the family farm. Congratulations, Dennis. Your kindness and spirit continue to be an inspiration to us all.
 
4. Schmidt Futures will help integrate New York State practices and systems with the best advanced technology tools to build back better. Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO and Executive Chairman and founder of Schmidt Futures, will lead the state's 15-member Blue Ribbon Commission and use what we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with new technologies, to improve telehealth and broadband access. 
 
5. Now, through August 12th, sunsets will be 8 p.m. or later. According to National Weather Service, the first sunset after 8 p.m. was on Monday. Still, as the weather gets warmer, we must continue our vigilance and practice social distancing.
 
6. The call for masks has helped to revive a small business in New York City. Panda International in NYC's Garment District has seen a rush in orders to provide elastic as people across the country began making masks at home for frontline workers.
 
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": When Ireland was in need during the potato famine in 1847, the Choctaw Nation was there to help, digging deep in their pockets to send donations to the stricken country. Now, 173 years later, hundreds of Irish people are repaying the act of kindness by sending donations to help Native American tribes during the Coronavirus pandemic.
 
Ever Upward,
 
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo