New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has extended the state's shutdown order until May 15, citing data showing conditions were improving but insisting on the need to maintain vigilance.
The governor pointed to falling rates of hospitalisation and patients admitted to intensive care, but said infection rates would have to decrease significantly before the economy could begin re-opening.
“I would like to see that infection rate get down even more,” Cuomo said at his daily briefing, reporting that 606 more people had died in the US's Covid-19 epicentre, the lowest daily toll in 10 days.
