Virus hospitalizations drop in New York

New York state saw just 637 people hospitalized Saturday for COVID-19, which is the lowest daily number since mid-March, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.

"That's a new low for us since March 18, so really great news," Cuomo told reporters in a conference call.

"What's the but? The but is the constant caution of this virus," Cuomo said Sunday. "Don't get cocky, don't get arrogant. There are still threats out there. You still have the national threat, and you have the compliance challenge."

New York City alone recorded four new COVID-19 hospitalizations Friday, its lowest number since March 1.

By contrast, Florida became the second state after California to surpass New York this weekend as the worst-hit state in the country, according to a Reuters tally.

Total coronavirus infections in Florida rose by 9,300 to 423,855 on Sunday, just one place behind California (a state with almost twice Florida's population), which now leads the country with 448,497 cases. New York is third with 415,827 cases.

Still, New York has recorded the most deaths of any US state at more than 32,000, with Florida in eighth place with nearly 6,000 deaths.

New York state also reported three confirmed deaths Saturday, while New York City had seven, confirmed and suspected combined, as of Friday.

Cuomo touted his state's low 1 percent positivity rate as a good omen. "New York did 53,568 tests (Saturday) — 536 positive. That is 1 percent, on the head, positive. I said from Day One, we're going to calibrate the reopening. What did we calibrate it to? To the rate of transmission," said the governor.

"What is the rate of transmission that you want to stay at?" Cuomo asked. "One (percent). … We are at that number. That's the red line. We're … reopening as fast as we can, and we are aggressive at reopening because we're at the red line."

In an implicit rebuke to states that curtailed their lockdowns, Cuomo added that if things reopen too quickly, "that's when the engine blows".

On average, Florida has added more than 10,000 cases a day in July while California has been adding 8,300 cases daily, and New York has been adding 700.

The surge in Florida has continued as Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican who identifies as a close ally of President Donald Trump, has repeatedly said he will not make mask-wearing mandatory and that schools must reopen in August.

New York state has managed to get the virus under control by keeping most of its stores and restaurants shuttered and by making the wearing of masks mandatory.

The rise in cases comes as Trump continues to push for physical classrooms to reopen in the fall, despite concerns by teachers and families that children could contract or transmit the virus once they return to school.

After New York, Texas has the most total coronavirus cases: 391,000. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Tropical Storm Hanna, which made landfall on Saturday as a Category 1 hurricane, was especially challenging as it was sweeping through an area of the state that has been hit hardest by the virus.

As of Sunday, more than 146,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 — nearly a quarter of the global total — and there are nearly 4.2 million confirmed cases in the country, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.

The latest vaccine news is that Moderna Inc said Sunday it has received an additional $472 million from the US government's Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to support development of its novel coronavirus vaccine.

The US-based drugmaker said the additional funding will support its late-stage clinical development including the expanded phase 3 study of its vaccine candidate.

In April, Moderna received $483 million from BARDA when the experimental vaccine was in an early-stage trial conducted by the US National Institutes of Health.

Top Trump administration officials on Sunday raised the possibility of Congress passing narrower, piecemeal coronavirus relief legislation — an approach opposed by Democrats — as a deadline looms on the expiration of enhanced unemployment benefits.

A day before Senate Republicans were due to introduce a $1 trillion coronavirus relief bill that includes reduced federal unemployment benefits, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said he believes the party can work quickly with Democrats on getting legislation passed.

Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows floated the idea of Congress passing a bill focusing on federal unemployment benefits, which expire Friday, while leaving other issues to be tackled later.

The most pressing issues are renewing the enhanced unemployment benefits — currently $600 a week — and liability protections from coronavirus-related lawsuits such as "frivolous" litigation against schools and universities, Mnuchin said.

Reuters contributed to this story.