'We are on the decline': Cuomo declares that NY state is 'past its peak' and says officials are preparing to launch 'the most aggressive antibody testing survey in the nation' in the next week

Governor Andrew Cuomo says New York appears to have passed its peak in coronavirus fatalities as the death toll across the state dropped for a second consecutive day.  

Cuomo on Sunday announced that 507 people died from COVID-19 on Saturday, down 43 from the day before. 

The total number of hospitalizations also continued its steady decline, falling from 16,967 to 16,213 from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday.  

'If the data holds, and if this trend holds, we are past the high point,' Cuomo said at a press briefing at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, Long Island.

'The recent news is good, that we are on the other side of the plateau and the numbers are coming down. 

'But that's good news only compared to the terrible news that we were living with, which is that constant increase.'  

New York has borne the brunt of the nation's COVID-19 outbreak, with more than 226,000 infections and at least 13,000 deaths to date.  

Cuomo cautioned that while emerging daily figures are promising, the fight is far from over.  

'It's no time to get cocky and it's no time to get arrogant,' he said. 

'We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. This virus has been ahead of us every step of the way. We still have to make sure that we keep that beast under control.'

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New York recorded 507 new COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, down 43 from the day before

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The number of new infections also fell from 9,090 on Friday to just 6,054 on Saturday 

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The total number of hospitalizations also continued its steady decline, falling from 16,967 to 16,213 from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday

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The number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations per day also fell from Friday to Saturday 

The governor credited strict social distancing policies for the decline in new deaths, cases and hospitalizations as he urged residents to stay vigilant in their efforts to curb the spread of the virus. 

'We showed that we can control the beast and when you close down, you can actually slow that infection rate, but this is only halftime,' he said. 

'We still have to make sure that we keep that beast under control, we keep that infection rate down, we keep that hospitalization rate down as we all get very eager to get on with life and move on.' 

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Cuomo credited strict social distancing policies for the decline in new deaths, cases and hospitalizations as he urged residents to stay vigilant in their efforts to curb the spread of the virus. People are seen walking along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade in masks on Sunday

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'The recent news is good, that we are on the other side of the plateau and the numbers are coming down,' Cuomo said. 'But that's good news only compared to the terrible news that we were living with, which is that constant increase.' Medical workers are seen unloading a COVID-19 patient at the Cobble Hill Health Center in Brooklyn on Saturday

Cuomo said officials are preparing to launch a state-wide antibody testing survey to help determine the true scale of the outbreak before they can begin lifting lockdowns, which will remain in place at least through May 15.  

'Any plan that is going to start to reopen the economy has to be based on data and that means it has to be based on testing,' Cuomo said. 

'This is a new world for all of us, testing, how do you get testing up to scale, how do you get it up to scale quickly and how do you find out where we really are right now in terms of this virus.

'You have all of the scientists and all the experts who are basically trying to extrapolate from the data - but we don't really know how many people were infected, how many people had coronavirus but self-resolved.'

Cuomo said the Food and Drug Administration has approved the state's antibody test - which is designed to detect whether a person has developed antibodies to fight COVID-19 and indicates that they may be immune against the virus. 

He said the New York state Department of Health is now preparing to roll out the nation's most aggressive antibody testing survey within the next week.  

By sampling thousands of people across the state, experts will be able to form a clearer picture of the outbreak that includes individuals who didn't previously get tested either because there were no kits available or because they didn't show symptoms.  

'That will tell us for the first time what percent of the population actually has had the coronavirus and is now at least short-term immune to the virus,' Cuomo explained. 

'This will be the first true snapshot of what we are really dealing with.'

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Cuomo said officials are preparing to launch a state-wide antibody testing survey to help determine the true scale of the outbreak before they can begin lifting lockdowns

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Pictured: A Mirimus, Inc. lab scientist works to validate rapid IgM/IgG antibody tests of COVID-19 samples from recovered patients in Brooklyn on April 10

The governor went on to say that New York and other states will need significant help from the federal government to carry out such extensive testing efforts and the mammoth task of reopening. 

He said he spoke to CDC Director Robert Redfield about the process on Saturday and is hopeful that financial support is on the way.  

'I spoke to the head of the CDC yesterday and he was very smart and very informed and we talked about how we can do this together,' Cuomo said. 

'Talk about being smart, the federal government is talking about passing another piece of legislation which would help in the reopening and they want to help small businesses and that's great. 

'They also have to help state governments and local governments which have not been supported in the previous legislation.' 

He warned that New York's school system could see a 50 percent reduction in funding unless the federal government provides more aid.  

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Cuomo also spoke about the economic challenges New York and other states are facing as they ramp up testing capacity to the point where it's safe to begin lifting lockdowns

'If you starve state and local government, all that means is we have to turn around and reduce funding to the people who we are funding,' Cuomo stated.  

'If we don't get federal assistance, you're looking at education cuts of close to 50-percent in the state of New York, where school districts would only get half of the aid they got from the state last year.'

He added that the cuts could extend well beyond schools, affecting the same hospitals battling coronavirus.  

'You're talking about cut to hospitals from the state,' he said. 'I mean, how ludicrous would it be for the state to now cut funding?' 

The governor's warning came hours after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio slammed President Trump for failing to provide more federal funding to the hard-hit city.  

The Big Apple has already made a stunning $6billion in cuts from its next proposed budget as a report released last week indicated that the city could lose nearly $10billion in tax revenue alone by summer 2021.   

Cuomo noted that a bipartisan group of governors are lobbying the Trump administration for a $500billion aid package to support state governments. 

He said that without that aid, efforts to re-launch state economies could die before they even begin.  

'Everyone is saying, well, it's up to the states to come up with a re-opening plan,' he said. 'But the governors and the states have to have resources.'

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New York and six other states - New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts - have formed a task force to reopen the economy as soon as the coronavirus threat is considered under control

Cuomo's briefing came just as he and the governors of six other states - New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Rhode Island and Massachusetts - announced that they have formed a task force to reopen the economy as soon as the coronavirus threat is controlled.  

In a joint press release from all seven governors in the alliance, Cuomo stated: 'We have been collaborating closely with our neighboring states to combat this pandemic through a uniform approach to social distancing and density reduction and it has been working well. 

'Now it is time to start opening the valve slowly and carefully while watching the infection rate meter so we don't trigger a second wave of new infections. 

'This is not a light switch that we can just flick on and everything goes back to normal - we have to come up with a smart, consistent strategy to restart the systems we shut down and get people back to work, and to the extent possible we want to do that through a regional approach because we are a regional economy. 

'New York is partnering with these five states to create a multi-state council that will come up with a framework based on science and data to gradually ease the stay at home restrictions and get our economy back up and running.' 

He explained the importance of the task force in more detail during the briefing. 

'The weather is getting warmer. The numbers are coming down. Cabin fever is getting worse. I believe that's going to be a documented disease when this is over. Cabin fever. But we have to stay smart and we have to stay coordinated,' he said.

'We have been working with the New Jersey and Connecticut because whatever one state does affects other states, right? You live in Nassau, you live in Suffolk, New York City, you can be in Connecticut in a matter of minutes. It's very important to plan accordingly.' 

'Not that we can be on the same page on everything but at least let's know what each other is doing, so, for example, on state parks we are coordinating what our policies are because people go from one state to another.'