As some areas of the state begin to enter Phase 2 of reopening, it's worth reflecting on our progress. New York State, and New York City in particular, was the epicenter in the U.S. We had more cases than any other state in the country. The virus came, we now know, via Europe — and 3 million flights from Europe landed in NYC in January, February and March. But although we were dealt one of the worst hands, we successfully flattened the curve. The situation forced us to be smart and aggressive. All the numbers are way down; we went from well over 3,000 new COVID hospitalizations a day to under 200. The best way we can help keep these numbers low is by continuing to be smart, diligent and New York Tough.
 
Here's what else you need to know tonight:
 
1. New York City is on track to begin Phase 1 of reopening June 8th. New York City is the last region in the state to begin to reopen, and the city is currently working on bringing its contact tracing capacity up to meet the required metrics.
 
2. Five regions of the state are ready to begin Phase 2. Central New York, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley, North Country and Southern Tier can enter Phase 2 of reopening today. Phase 2 allows real estate services, in-store retail shopping and some barbershop services to resume, and allows some office-workers to return (but not at full capacity). Business guidance for Phase 2 of the state's reopening plan is available here.
 
3. We are implementing a new "early warning dashboard" to monitor virus containment. The dashboard allows New Yorkers to see for themselves all of the state's data tracking new infections and their severity, hospital capacity by region and other metrics. The early warning system dashboard was developed in consultation with internationally-known experts who have been advising New York State. See it here.
 
4. The numbers of total COVID hospitalizations continues to decline. Total hospitalizations fell to 3,781, from 4,010 the day before. The number of new COVID hospitalizations fell to 152, from 163 the day before. Tragically, we lost 67 New Yorkers to the virus yesterday. 
 
Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": As a child, Deirdre Taylor was saved from a burning building in Manhattan by firefighter Eugene Pugliese. Now a nurse, Taylor traveled from Virginia to New York City to help with the Coronavirus response — and as a result finally reunited with the (now retired) firefighter who saved her life forty years ago.

 
Ever Upward,
 
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo