COVID cases in NY plummet 14% as start of school approaches

Sarah Taddeo and Mike Stucka
·4 min read

New York's COVID-19 cases continue to fall in most areas of the state, as both federal and state officials loosen guidelines around quarantining as they look ahead to the start of the school year.

New York reported 34,401 new cases in the week ending Sunday, down 14% from the previous week's tally of 40,023 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

New York ranked 27th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

Ashley Peterson, left, comforts her daughter, Ella Seigler, 5, before she is inoculated with her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children from five to 12 years at NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem Hospital in New York.
Ashley Peterson, left, comforts her daughter, Ella Seigler, 5, before she is inoculated with her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children from five to 12 years at NYC Health + Hospitals Harlem Hospital in New York.

In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 11.2% from the week before, with 707,345 cases reported. With 5.84% of the country's population, New York had 4.86% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, eight states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidelines for COVID-19 testing and quarantine, saying that if a person is exposed to COVID, they no longer need to quarantine, regardless of vaccination status. Instead, they should wear a mask for 10 days and test on day five.

On Monday, New York echoed those guidelines, saying that the state will no longer mount mandatory group screening testing in schools or ask exposed students or staff to quarantine.

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How COVID-19 is spreading in NY

  • In the latest week, Westchester County's COVID-19 cases fell by 17%, reporting 1,380 cases and two deaths.

  • Rockland County's cases declined 9%, reporting 550 cases and one death.

  • Putnam County's cases dropped 10%, reporting 145 cases and zero deaths.

  • Dutchess County's cases fell 24%, reporting 379 cases and four deaths.

  • Orange County's cases remained flat, reporting 902 cases.

  • Upstate, Monroe County's cases decreased 13%, reporting 598 cases and five deaths.

  • Broome County's cases increased by 21%, reporting 228 cases and two deaths.

  • Oneida County's cases rose 5%, reporting 313 cases and one death.

​ Across New York, cases fell in 35 counties, with the best declines in:

  • Queens County, with 5,407 cases from 6,626 a week earlier,

  • Kings County, with 5,237 cases from 6,076,

  • Bronx County, with 3,264 cases from 4,101. ​

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

​Within New York, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in:

  • Richmond County with 259 cases per 100,000 per week

  • Queens County with 240,

  • Orange County with 234.

The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Weekly case counts rose in 26 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Erie, Broome and Cayuga counties.

In New York, ​ 157 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 203 people were reported dead.

A total of 5,941,350 people in New York have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 70,850 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 93,641,944 people have tested positive and 1,041,149 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

New York's COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat

In this April 8, 2021 file photo, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is seen at a pop up vaccination site in the Staten Island borough of New York.
In this April 8, 2021 file photo, the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is seen at a pop up vaccination site in the Staten Island borough of New York.

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Aug. 21. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 3,850

  • The week before that: 3,787

  • Four weeks ago: 4,149

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 68,647

  • The week before that: 69,679

  • Four weeks ago: 73,529

Hospitals in 14 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 19 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 20 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: NY's COVID cases plummet 14% as start of school approaches