A small decline in coronavirus deaths in New York over the last 24 hours may be a glimmer of hope that the spread is slowing, Govenor Andrew Cuomo has said.

Overall fatalities in the state climbed to nearly 4,200, and Gov. Cuomo said it was too soon to determine whether the pandemic had reached its apex.

"We could either be very near the apex, or the apex could be a plateau and we could be on the plateau right now," he said. "You can't do this day to day. You have to look at three or four days to see a pattern."

The state reported 594 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday - a small decrease compared to the 630 new fatalities announced the day before. ICU admissions and intubations were also down, the governor said, while the discharge rate from hospitals was rising.

New York City officials also reported a dip in fatalities. As of 4:45pm (EDT) it said deaths had risen by 218 since the evening before, to a total of 2,472. By comparison, there were 387 new deaths reported in the previous 24 hours and 305 the day before that.