Despite an increase in confirmed coronavirus cases in states such as Texas, Arizona, Florida and Nevada, New York is seeing a continued flattening of the curve as Long Island approaches being one week away from the fourth phase of reopening.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday that coronavirus-related deaths and hospitalizations were at their lowest rates since the early stages of the pandemic in mid-March.

A total of five people died from the coronavirus on Saturday, which marked the lowest number of statewide deaths since the pandemic began.  A total of 616 new cases were reported and 54 more hospital admissions.

“Our progress is a direct result of New Yorkers’ discipline and hard work and an incremental, data-driven reopening,” Cuomo said on Sunday. “Yesterday, as our hospitalizations dropped below 900, New York had its lowest single-day death toll since March 15th.  While today’s numbers are very encouraging, New Yorkers must remain vigilant or the numbers will shoot right back up.”

Cuomo said on Tuesday that an additional eight states would be added to New York’s travel advisory, which applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average or a state with a 10 percent or higher positivity rate over that same duration.

The updated list of states includes Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Nevada, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

“As an increasing number of states around the country fight significant community spread, New York is taking action to maintain the precarious safety of its phased, data-driven reopening,” Cuomo said. “We’ve set metrics for community spread just as we’ve set metrics for everything the state does to fight COVID-19, and eight more states have reached the level of spread required to qualify for New York’s travel advisory.”

People traveling to New York from those states will be required to quarantine for 14 days, Cuomo said.

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran touted the county’s efforts in decreasing the number of cases during a Tuesday news conference. Curran said that the percentage of people testing positive for the coronavirus cases is 0.5 percent, with 26 cases since Monday.

“That’s moved three decimal points since we were at our peak, with 50% of everyone testing positive,” Curran said.

While more than 41,000 cases have been confirmed throughout the county, Curran said, no new deaths were reported as of Tuesday, and 55 patients in the county’s 11 hospitals had tested positive. Thirteen patients were in intensive care units, a daily decline of three.

North Shore villages and town-governed entities have also seen decreases in the number of confirmed cases throughout the month of June.

The Village of Roslyn, according to Newsday statistics, still has the highest rate of cases per 1,000 residents (149 confirmed) in Nassau County. But this may not be accurate, said Mayor John Durkin.

In a phone call to Blank Slate Media, Durkin said the village’s population of roughly 4,000 residents does not coincide with Newsday’s report of 52.24 cases per 1,000 residents, which was reported in previous articles in Blank Slate Media papers.

Durkin attributed some of the cases to people with underlying health conditions at the village’s two senior homes, the Atria and Assisted Living Roslyn.

“If you take out those cases [from the assisted living homes], then I would say we are pretty on par with everyone else,” Durkin said.

It has been one week since Nassau County entered phase three of reopening businesses and the economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The third phase, as outlined by state officials, includes reinstating indoor dining (at 50 percent capacity), and personal care businesses such as nail salons, spas and tanning salons.  Some “low risk” youth sports can begin on July 6 throughout the state, officials said.

If no spikes in the virus are reported in the coming week, Long Island is on track to enter the fourth and final reopening phase on July 8. This phase includes reopening the arts, entertainment and recreation. 

Colleges and universities will be permitted to reopen once they establish plans to contain and monitor the coronavirus.