Meanwhile, the 7-day average positivity rate reached 3.18 per cent on Friday, down from 3.22 on Thursday, or the lowest since November 26, the Governor said in a press release, adding that the single-day positivity rate increased to 2.85 per cent on Friday, up from 2.82 one day earlier, the Xinhua news reported. 

"New Yorkers have shown strength and resilience throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and we're going to need more of it as we work to get everyone vaccinated across the state," Cuomo said. 

"The footrace between the positivity rate and the vaccination rate is progressing in our favour and we've been able to reopen different sectors of our economy, but we still need more vaccines to propel us over the finish line," he said. 

"We have continuously opened more vaccination sites as our supply allows, and we're ready to get shots in arms as quickly and fairly as possible as our allocations increase. We can get to the light at the end of the tunnel, but we're going to need to stay safe and vigilant and care for our fellow New Yorkers," he added. 

As of Saturday noon, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University reported 47,418 deaths in New York State, the second worst in the country following the state of California with a death toll of 51,794.