New York is relaxing restrictions on group gatherings as the state sees its lowest single-day death toll since March

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed an executive order to allow the non-essential gathering of groups of 10 or fewer people.
• The move came hours after the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Cuomo's order, arguing it violated the First Amendment.
• On Saturday, the state of New York reported 84 COVID-19-related deaths within the past 24 hours, the first time the number has been under 100 since March.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday signed an executive order that allows the non-essential gatherings of 10 or fewer people as the state on Saturday reported its lowest single-day deaths for the first time since late March.

The order came after the New York Civil Liberties Union on Friday morning filed a lawsuit against the governor over his order that prohibited gatherings of any size on behalf of a woman who was arrested two times during a protest over the state's ongoing economic shutdown outside New York City Hall.

"The lawsuit seeks to declare the governor's actions violate the First Amendment, restrain the government from enforcing the gathering ban against Ms. Bouferguen's scheduled event, and permanently enjoin the government from enforcing public-gatherings ban against protest events with ten or fewer people who engage in social distancing," the NYCLY said in a statement Friday.

Cuomo's Friday order allows "any non-essential gathering of ten or fewer individuals, for any lawful purpose or reason, provided that social distancing protocols and cleaning and disinfection protocols required by the Department of Health are adhered to."

The governor had previously announced groups of 10 or fewer would be allowed for Memorial Day services or commemorations, or for religious services or ceremonies.

The state of New York Saturday reported 84 COVID-19-related deaths in the past 24 hours, the first time fewer than 100 people have died in a single day as a result of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. At the peak of the outbreak in New York City, there were 590 deaths reported in a 24-hour period, according to the New York City Department of Health.

"We lost 84 New Yorkers to COVID-19 yesterday," Cuomo said in a Saturday tweet. "By any normal standard this is a hideous number. But we are thankful this number has fallen below 100 for the first time since late March."

—Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 23, 2020

According to data analyzed by Johns Hopkins University, at least 358,154 people have contracted COVID-19 in the state of New York and at least 28,853 people have died from the disease. The state of New York has seen the largest outbreak of COVID-19 in the US, which has seen the largest outbreak globally.

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