Gov. Hochul Announces Sharp Downward Trend of NY COVID Cases

By Yehudit Garmaise

New York COVID cases took a sharp downturn in the past week, when they decreased by 50% over the past week, and hospitalizations were reduced by more than 500: just in the past 24 hours, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced today.

In addition, just the last few days, New York’s seven-day average COVID positivity rate continues its sharp downward trend: from 9.11% on Wednesday, to 7.91% on Friday, and to 7.30% today.

"We're getting through this winter surge, and we know what to do,” Gov. Hochul said. “We know how to handle this. No one is more resilient anywhere in this country than New Yorkers.

Today, 12,332 new positive COVID cases were reported, and 863 new patients were admitted to hospitals. Statewide, the number of COVID patients in intensive care units (ICU) is 1,186 patients, which thankfully, decreased by 63 from Friday. The number of patients who are in ICUs with intubuation also went down on Friday from 715 to 689. Today, officials confirmed that 125 New Yorkers died from deaths that were related to COVID.

The governor said that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 95.0% of all New Yorkers age 18 and older have received at least one vaccine dose, and 84.5% have received both shots. For New Yorkers of all ages, 87.4% have received at least one dose, and 74.0% have completed their vaccine series.

"Let's use the tools: vaccines, boosters and masks,” Gov. Hochul said. “Let's be safe, and we'll get through this together as we always have."