New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says coronavirus can linger in the air for three hours and live on surfaces for up to three days, sparking fears over how the state can safely begin to reopen.

Gov Cuomo confirmed the findings at his daily briefing on Friday, describing it as a 'shocker'.

'The virus can live for 72 hours on plastic and stainless steel surfaces. Think about this from a transit point of view,' he stated.

'The [coronavirus] droplets can hang in the air for three hours. I thought it was a droplet that falls, but it can linger for three hours. I don't even know how that works,' he added.

New York's stay-at-home orders have been extended until mid-May, but the startling new information poses complications for how the state can reopen after that.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo confrimed Friday that coronavirus can linger in the air for three hours and live on surfaces for up to three days

The findings are prompting many New York City residents to wonder how the city can safely reopen. Commuters are pictured riding the city's subway on April 7

New York City residents, in particular, are dependent on the subway system and crosstown buses in order to commute to work.

On a regular day, over half of The Big Apple's 8.6 million residents take the subway - squeezing into packed cars and brushing up against seats, poles and doors.

Last week, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) - which runs the city's bus and subway system - revealed that ridership had plunged by 92 percent since the COVID-19 outbreak.

The organization predicts that they will lose around $3.7 billion in revenue if ridership continues to remain low in the next couple of months.

The new information may also explain why MTA workers have been so heavily affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.

3,352 employees have tested positive to the coronavirus, and 84 employees have died.

When will New York City return to this? On a regular day, over half of The Big Apple's 8.6 million residents take the subway, squeezing into packed cars and brushing up against seats, poles and doors. Pictured above: a typical morning inside a Manhattan subway station, captured in 2017

Ridership on NYC's subway and buses has plunged by 92 percent since the COVID-19 outbreak. Commuters are pictured earlier this month

The number of deaths in NYC continues to fluctuate as the Gov Cuomo eyes reopening the state within the next month

Services across the public transport network are continuing amidst the crisis, but at a reduced rate.

Gov Cuomo told reporters at his briefing on Friday that he and his team are 'working on how to come up with new cleaning and disinfecting protocols', but he did not elaborate.

There has previously been contention within the scientific community about how long the virus remains in the air and on surfaces.

Some prior reports claimed that the virus may only live on metal and plastic for less than two days.

Earlier this month, an official from World Health Organization contended that the virus does not remain airborne for long at all.

As of Saturday morning, more than 271,000 New York state residents have tested positive to COVID-19, and 16,162 have died.