russia services here are being streamed on the internet the leader of the russian orthodox church patrick carroll urged people to stay at home and pray he led an overnight the chill at the cathedral of christ the savior in moscow attended by a small group of clergy traditionally thousands do gather there to light candles from the holy fire which is flown in from jerusalem meanwhile the russian orthodox church is given some recommendations on how to bless the traditional instigate at home and president vladimir putin sent out this easter message. we're going to present but who do the slew of these east celebrations are happening at a time of restrictions they're necessary to battle the disease known around the world we are closely analyzing the experience of other countries to understand the situation and see the risks and assess what to do in any scenario we will do all that is necessary to stop the pandemic there is no doubt that rush will make it through these challenges with dignity happy easter stay happy and healthy. while in russia 361 people have lost their lives to the corona virus and th

cnn's jason carroll live outside a very quiet st. patrick's cathedral in new york.ning, jason. >> reporter: good morning. that's right, quiet, because as you know, services are closed to the public. instead, cardinal dolan will be holding mass online. governor cuomo, though, says all of this seems to be working, keeping churches closed, social distancing. the number of intubations in the state are down. the number of hospitalations in the state, in the city, are down. that apex you heard him talk so much about appears to be a plateau. what is disturbing is that the number of deaths appears to have plateaued at an alarming, alarming rate. if you look at some of the numbers, more than 181,000 people in the state have been infected with covid-19. 8,650 people have lost their lives. but again, the social distancing appears to be working, keeping nonessential businesses closed, keeping churches closed, schools closed. but there is a bit of controversy about the school closures between the mayor and the governor, who, as you know, have been at odds at times. yesterday, th

cnn's jason carroll is live outside a very quiet st. patrick's cathedral in new york. you, jason. >> reporter: and good morning to you, amara. typically, this would be one of the busiest sundays at st. patrick's, but not today. the services are closed to the public. instead, cardinal dolan will be holding mass online. governor cuomo says that the social distancing here in the state is working, working in the state, working in the city. the number of hospitalizations are down. the number of intubations are down. you heard the governor talk so much about that apex. well, that apex now appears to be a plateau. he says that's where we are now. what is disturbing -- and you touched on this -- are the number of people who have died, the number of people who have been infected in the state stands at a little more than 181,000. the number of people who have lost their lives, 8,650 people have died as a result of covid-19. but again, the social distancing appears to be working, keeping nonessential businesses closed, keeping schools closed, but there is a bit of controversy abo