People walk by ambulances parked outside NewYork'Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, Wednesday, May 6, 2020 in New York during the coronavirus pandemic. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says most COVID-19 patients coming into New York hospitals are not working and not traveling daily and tend to be older than 50. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
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NEW YORK (AP) - Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended protections for New Yorkers unable to pay their rent, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio set an ambitious goal to test 140,000 people for coronavirus antibodies by early next month. The state's daily death toll was 231.
More on the latest pandemic-related developments in New York:
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EVICTION MORATORIUM
New York's moratorium on outbreak-related housing evictions was extended Thursday by Cuomo for two more months.
The governor in March had issued a moratorium on residential and commercial evictions that lasted through June, but he said he wanted to reduce the anxiety of families struggling through the economic shutdown. It is now extended until Aug. 20.
'œI hope it gives families a deep breath,'ť Cuomo said at his daily briefing.
The executive order will also ban late fees for missed payments and allow renters to apply their security deposit to a payment, though they'd have to pay it back over time.
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DEATH TOLL JUMP
New York's official COVID-19 death count jumped by 720 because of a more thorough reporting of fatalities at nursing homes and adult-care facilities.
'œThere was consistency lacking in the quality of reporting, so we went back and did a thorough review,'ť said state Department of Health spokeswoman Jill Montag.
The statewide outbreak toll is now 20,828.
That total doesn't include more than 5,300 deaths in New York City that were attributed to the virus on death certificates but that weren't confirmed by a lab test.
The health department has been working with nursing homes and adult care facilities to create a system for reporting fatalities in real-time and retrospectively, Montag said.
At least 5,003 residents who were confirmed or presumed to have COVID-19 have died in nursing homes since the outbreak began. An unknown number of the state's 2,585 presumed nursing home deaths are included in the city's count of presumed deaths.
New York tallied 231 virus-related deaths Wednesday. Though hospitalizations continued to decrease slowly to under 8,700, the daily death toll has hovered around 230 for four days.
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JETBLUE FLYOVER
New York City residents got a special sight Thursday evening, as JetBlue sent three of its specially painted planes to the skies above the city in a special flyover to thank health care workers for their efforts against the coronavirus.
One plane was painted in red with the shield of the Fire Department of New York, while another was mostly blue in honor of the New York Police Department and has the department's flag on the tail. The third featured JetBlue's logo and the well-known 'œI Love NY'ť slogan.
The flyover coincided with the launch of a program from JetBlue, donating pairs of round-trip flight certificates to health care workers. Customers have until May 15th to nominate workers to receive certificates.
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ANTIBODY TESTING
New York City will test 140,000 people for coronavirus antibodies between next week and early June, de Blasio announced Thursday.
The antibody tests, which indicate whether a person has been infected with the virus at some point, will be offered for free by appointment at five locations, the mayor said. The results will be available in one to two days and will also be used for research, he said.
Researchers say it is unclear whether coronavirus antibodies provide immunity from further exposure to the germ. The human body produces antibodies days or weeks after fighting an infection. Most tests use a finger prick of blood on a strip.
'œWe are not promising people a rose garden here," de Blasio said. 'œWe're not saying the antibody test is the last word. It's not. But it tells you something.'ť
The city will use tests made by BioReference Laboratories for the free program.
The state has already performed antibody tests on about 27,000 workers at health care centers in the New York City area.
At a separate briefing Thursday, Cuomo announced that those workers tested positive for antibodies at a lower rate than the general population, a finding he said shows the effectiveness of protective masks and gloves for front-line workers.
'œThat is amazingly good news,'ť he said. 'œWe were afraid of what was going to happen.'ť
The survey found 12% of health care workers in New York City tested positive for antibodies, compared with 20% for the city's general population. Positive rates for health care workers in Westchester County, just north of the city, were about half of those for the general population, though worker rates were roughly the same on Long Island.
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Villeneuve and Hill reported from Albany, N.Y.
Meals on Wheels delivery driver Pasquale Fabbricatore, 66, delivers meals to homebound senior Theresa Rustico, 83, during the coronavirus pandemic in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of the Brooklyn borough in New York on Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
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A woman wearing a protective mask walks along Sinatra Drive North in view of midtown Manhattan, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Hoboken, N.J. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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A runner in Maxwell Place Park passes a sign reminding people of social distancing Thursday, May 7, 2020, in Hoboken, N.J., during the coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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A supporter, left, watches as a nurse wheels a tray of sandwiches and cookeis provided by Democratic U.S. Congressional candidate Michelle Caruso-Cabrera and New York State Senate candidate Iggy Terranova to emergency room and intensive care unit staff at Mount Sinai-Queens Hospital during Nurses Appreciation week, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. Caruso-Cabrera is opposing U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th congressional district in New York's June 23rd primary election. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
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Meals on Wheels delivery driver Pasquale Fabbricatore, 66, delivers meals to homebound senior Louise Delija, 93, during the coronavirus pandemic, in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)
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Mount Sinai-Queens emergency room nurse Brandon Biolsi, right, holds his dog Mily as two of his other dogs, Milo and Mia, greet a colleague on the sidewalk in front of the hospital where Biolsi's husband brought the pets to visit him during a lunch break, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. Biolsi and his husband took the dogs for a walk in a nearby park. He said bringing the dogs to the hospital is good for him and good for other nurses, too. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
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Mount Sinai-Queens emergency and operating room nurse Brandon Biolsi holds his dog Mily after the dog, happy to see him, leaped into his arms when Biolsi's husband brought their dogs to see him during a lunch break, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. Biolsi said he has been pitching in on various hospital units, including helping with end-of-life care to COVID-19 patients during the current coronavirus crisis. Biolsi said his work has been a "powerful, life-changing experience." (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
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Democratic congressional candidate Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, left, and Democratic New York State Senate candidate Iggy Terranova, second left, greet staff outside Mount Sinai-Queens Hospital after the political duo provided sandwiches and cookies for emergency room and internsive care unit staff during Nurses Appreciation Week, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. Caruso-Cabrera is opposing U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's 14th congressional district in New York's June 23rd primary election. Caruso-Cabrera says she has been providing weekly lunches for the ER and ICU staff during the current coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
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A JetBlue plane moves toward Lower Manhattan to honor medical workers, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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People in Maxwell Place Park on Hoboken, N.J., photograph a JetBlue airplane flying over the Hudson River on a path around New York, background, to honor medical workers during the coronavirus pandemic Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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A JetBlue plane passes over the Hudson River on a path around New York to honor medical workers, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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A JetBlue planes passes over the Hudson River on a path around New York to honor medical workers, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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A JetBlue plane passes over the Hudson River on a path around New York to honor medical workers, Thursday, May 7, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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Signs notify people to wear face coverings and maintain social distancing in Maxwell Place Park in Hoboken, N.J., as the Empire State Building across the Hudson River in New York is lit in red to honor healthcare workers Thursday, May 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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