"We lost 481 people", Cuomo said. "452 [deaths] in hospitals, 29 in nursing homes".
Cuomo added that 478 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 on 19 April.
The governor emphasised that as the overall number of deaths, hospitalisations, and new COVID-19 cases abates, New York state seems to be witnessing the plateau in the outbreak.
"Hopefully, we are on the plateau. On the other side of the plateau is a descent", Cuomo said.
However, various regions in New York state are affected differently by the COVID-19 pandemic and the local authorities will have to establish their own strategies, including plans to reopen the economy, Cuomo also said.
"Western New York - I believe we are on the plateau. Downstate New York - it appears that we are on the descent", Cuomo added.
As of Monday, New York confirmed a total of 247,512 cases of the novel coronavirus and 14,347 COVID-19-related deaths.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) on 11 March declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus a pandemic. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 2.5 million cases of COVID-19 have been registered in the world and over 171,000 people have died from the disease.
