NYC cleared to enter phase two of reopening on Monday

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday announced that global public health experts have cleared New York City to enter phase two of reopening on Monday, two weeks after the city started reopening.

"I am so incredibly proud of what we all did together and as a community. We reopened the economy and saved lives, because it was never a choice between one or the other, it was always right to do both," said Cuomo.

The governor made the remarks in an address from his office in the State Capitol, ending his daily COVID-19 briefings after holding 100-plus conferences since early March.

New York state has the largest COVID-19 testing capacity in the country and now one of the lowest transmission rates among all 50 states.

Cuomo also warned that the pandemic is not over, and people have to be on alert for a second wave.