NY Gov. Hochul ‘concerned’ about rise in COVID cases as holidays approach

Gov. Hochul is sounding the alarm as New York battles its worst COVID outbreak since the spring, warning Tuesday that the state could bring back strict pandemic mandates if things don’t change.

The governor voiced concern about Western New York’s soaring 8.5% positivity rate during a visit to her hometown of Buffalo and called on New Yorkers to take the rise in cases seriously as the holidays approach.

“At some point, if the numbers don’t start on a downward trend, we’re going to have to talk about larger protocols, which we all know are available to us,” she said during a press conference at the Delavan Grider Community Center. “This is the warning. The warning is going out loud and clear today and I truly hope the community at large listens to this because it doesn’t have to be this way.”

Hochul encouraged parents to get newly eligible kids between 5 and 11 vaccinated and called on those in vulnerable age groups or in areas with high infection rates to seek out booster shots to help stem the tide.

“I am concerned,” she added. “I’m personally deeply concerned about the rate of infection, not just here in Western New York, we’re also seeing it in the Finger Lakes and some other regions.”

Despite a relatively high vaccination rate, the state’s seven-day average of positive cases is up to 5,438, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That’s the worst it’s been since April 22, when a spring surge was dying down and the vaccination drive was just getting into high gear.

Worse still, the number of cases in the Empire State has risen by a third in the past week alone, suggesting the resurgent pandemic will continue to spread in coming days and weeks as Thanksgiving approaches.

The statewide positive test rate now stands at a hair above 4%, another worrying sign for public health officials.

The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with coronavirus has not yet tracked the caseload tally and the average number of deaths per day has remained around 25, roughly the same since the delta variant started surging in the state and region.

But health officials should be bracing for those grim tallies to also increase, because they often lag a couple of weeks behind the caseload tally.

The surge in New York comes as caseloads increase nationwide especially in northern states where the weather has turned chilly, driving people indoors where coronavirus spreads easier.

New York boasts a 68% vaccination rate, the sixth highest of the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

However, in areas like the city, where vaccination rates are higher and Mayor de Blasio has instituted strict measures such as vaccine mandates for city workers and indoor dining, the infection rate remains low, Hochul noted.

The governor said she hopes local governments across upstate can follow the city’s lead as she encouraged those who have yet to get immunized to roll up their sleeves.

She said the state will back up any local decisions and “be there as their ally at their sides,” a far cry from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top-down approach to managing the pandemic.

“We all went through this anxiety a year ago, we thought that was the last time,” Hochul said, adding that, at the moment, the solution is relatively simple: “Get more people vaccinated and get the booster if you haven’t had it, wear a mask indoors, maintain the distance.”