New York went from first to last, but it's a good sign in the fight with COVID-19.

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Over the weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave New Yorkers some "really great news" about COVID-19. He announced the state reached the lowest number of hospitalizations and deaths since the pandemic began. The number of total hospitalizations was down on Sunday to the lowest level from March 20 to 1,657. 23 people in New York passed away due to COVID-19 on Saturday, down from a record-high of 800 just nine weeks ago.

"This is really great news. This has caused New Yorkers a lot of pain. We breathe a deep sigh of relief today," Cuomo said.

Also over the weekend, Cuomo announced New York has the nation's lowest COVID-19 rate of transmission out of all 50 states.

“That is incredible. New York now has the lowest COVID-19 transmission rate in the nation," Cuomo said. "We were number 1 with infections, now we are last."

On Friday, Cuomo said the COVID-19 rate of transmission in New York was .77, the lowest out of all 50 states. On Sunday, Cuomo said New York's COVID-19 rate of transmission remains the lowest in the nation at .78.

"States that have reopened too quickly or uncontrolled are now starting to close down. So we are the exact opposite. We, since we've reopened, the number has continued to go down, believe it or not. We reopened. It continues to go down because we've been disciplined in our reopening, and that's what we have to continue to do," Cuomo said. "Where we are today is a pivotal point in this entire situation with the coronavirus. You see states all across the nation where the infection rate is going up dramatically. You have states now that reopened that are scaling back their reopening. That's how bad the spikes are."

A rate of 1 or more means COVID-19 will spread quickly, officials say.

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