The second wave of COVID-19 continues to rage across New York state, with another 6,000 New Yorkers diagnosed with the virus and 42 people dead from it as of Friday, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo.
New York City’s positivity rate is rising, but according to the state’s figures, the 7-day average sits just below 3%, at 2.61%. Several micro-clusters have been detected across the city, including on Staten Island, where cases recently spiked.
Things seem to be improving in the Staten Island orange zoning, which includes Tottenville, Great Kills and other areas on the southern end of the borough. The 7-day positivity rate has decreased from 5.24% between Nov. 8-14 to 4.96% between Nov. 15-21. The rolling average as of Nov. 27 was 4.86%, virtually unchanged from the 4.83% recorded on Thanksgiving.
Cuomo again warned that New York is entering a critical period of the pandemic. For days leading up to Thanksgiving, he expressed fear that a COVID-19 spike would follow the holiday as families and friends gathered together.
“We are entering a challenging period of sustained COVID-19 spread across this state,” Cuomo said. “It’s up to you, your neighborhood and your community to slow the spread. Our micro-cluster strategy can target very small areas with restrictions, so the actions each of us take and the actions our neighbors take may seem small, but they make a big difference. New York has one of the nation’s lowest infection rates and the nation’s highest testing capacity, but it will take the vigilance of New Yorkers to get us through the holidays and through this pandemic.”
In all, 152,355 test results were reported to the state on Nov. 27, with 6,063 positive tests recorded. Hospitalizations continue to steadily rise statewide, with 3,287 admitted as of Friday, an increase of 184 from the previous day; there were also 225 discharges from the hospital.
Of those hospitalized, 654 are in intensive care and 337 are on intubation.
The 42 new deaths, including two reported in Brooklyn Friday, brought the state’s COVID-19 death toll year-to-date to 26,632.
