Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he's cautiously optimistic New York is slowing the spread of the virus.

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Daily ICU admissions were a negative number for the first time, at minus 17.

"That means there were fewer people in ICU units statewide yesterday than there were on the previous day," Cuomo said.

Hospitalizations are down on average over the past 3 days, he noted. Adding the actual numbers of need are "much much lower" than of the projections for the pandemic.

"Overall, New York is flattening the curve," Cuomo said.

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However, he reported 777 New Yorkers died from the virus in the past day, bringing the statewide total of deaths to 7,844.

"We feel this loss deeply as a state, community and New York family," he said. "It is a terrible, heartbreaking loss."

He again stressed New Yorkers must continue to follow social distancing guidelines in order to keep the numbers down.

"What we are doing, we have to stay with it," Cuomo said.

He added the state can't restart all at once. It must happen on a gradual basis and only after there is mass testing available on a much larger scale than what the state has done so far.

He thinks New York, New Jersey and Connecticut must work together as a "testing coalition."

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