New York reports lowest deaths in weeks

New York state reported its lowest number of daily coronavirus deaths in weeks in what Gov. Andrew Cuomo described Saturday as a critical benchmark.

The daily death tally was 84 after a peak of 799 on April 8.

Reducing the state's daily death count to fewer than 100 seemed almost impossible several weeks ago, the Democratic governor said.

That figure has remained stubbornly high even amid other signs of encouragement.

"In my head, I was always looking to get under 100," Cuomo said.

"For me, it's a sign that we're making real progress." The number of hospitalized patients in the state that has been the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. continued to fall, dropping to over 4,600.

Cuomo also announced that the region along the Hudson River north of New York City and south of Albany is set to begin reopening Tuesday, and that Long Island could follow suit Wednesday.