Total COVID-19 hospitalizations reached 8,846 on Thursday in New York state, down from 9,055 on Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeted on Friday.

Of the 268,001 COVID-19 tests reported on Thursday in the state, 15,144 were positive, or 5.65 percent of the total, down from 6.18 percent one day earlier, Cuomo said, adding that the fatalities went down to 165 on Thursday, compared with 174 on Wednesday.

"On day one, the new administration has joined the COVID fight with common sense policies we have advocated for all along: Wear a mask, institute international travel procedures, increase production of needed supplies. It feels great to have competent leadership in Washington," the governor said in another tweet.

As of Friday noon, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University reported 41,787 coronavirus deaths in New York state, the worst in the country.