New York COVID cases plummet 38% as indoor mask mandate lifted
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New York's weekly tally of coronavirus cases dropped about 38% last week as Gov. Kathy Hochul lifted the indoor mask mandate for businesses on Thursday.
The state added 33,811 new cases in the week ending Sunday, down from the previous week's tally of 54,466 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
New York ranked 47th 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.
Yet New York's decline in COVID-19 cases — which have plunged from the winter surge peak of 90,000 cases on Jan. 7 alone — will now face another test as authorities brace for a potential uptick in infections linked to people gathering Sunday for Super Bowl parties indoors, where the virus spreads more easily.
Meanwhile, Hochul continued to urge more parents to get their children vaccinated against COVID-19, as state officials could potentially lift the mask mandate for schools in early March — if pediatric vaccination rates improve and coronavirus cases continue to drop.
"The vaccine is still the most effective weapon we have in beating this pandemic, which is why it's so important that we continue to encourage New Yorkers to take advantage of this critical tool," Hochul said in a statement Sunday.
"Parents and guardians, don't delay in getting your children vaccinated and boosted if eligible," she added.
About 596,000 children in New York between the ages of 5 to 11 have received at least the first dose of Pfizer-BioNtech's two-dose COVID-19 vaccine. That's about 38% of kids in the age group, which is well below the 76% vaccination rate in older children ages 12 to 17.
And while authorities asserted vaccinating children against COVID-19 is key to limiting outbreaks, Pfizer and BioNtech on Friday pushed the pause button on the process of authorizing its COVID-19 vaccine for the youngest children.
The companies said in a release that they want to wait until data becomes available on a third vaccine dose for children under 5, likely in early April.
More: Unmasked? Even with restrictions lifted for restaurants, not all are comfortable
How COVID is spreading in New York
In the latest week, Westchester County saw coronavirus cases drop 37%, reporting 1,227 cases and 18 deaths.
Rockland County's cases fell 17%, reporting 540 cases and one death.
Putnam County's cases declined 11%, reporting 143 cases and one death.
Dutchess County's cases plummeted 31%, reporting 487 cases and 20 deaths.
In upstate, Monroe County saw coronavirus cases fall nearly 39%, reporting 1,123 cases and 19 deaths.
Broome County's cases dropped 23%, reporting 558 cases and two deaths.
Oneida County's cases declined 32%, reporting 594 cases and six deaths
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
New York ranked 8th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 88.3% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 75.9%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.
In the week ending Sunday, New York reported administering another 511,001 vaccine doses, including 119,404 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 114,502 vaccine doses.
Within New York, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in:
Clinton County with 549 cases per 100,000 per week.
Oswego County with 429.
St. Lawrence County with 370.
The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
In New York, 763 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 982 people were reported dead.
A total of 4,886,180 people in New York have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 66,523 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 77,739,880 people have tested positive and 919,696 people have died.
Nationally, coronavirus cases decreased 41.5% from the week before, with 1,217,001 cases reported. With 5.84% of the country's population, New York had 2.78% of the country's cases in the last week.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
New York's COVID-19 hospital admissions falling
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Feb. 13.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Last week: 4,773
The week before that: 5,698
Four weeks ago: 12,889
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Last week: 110,378
The week before that: 131,189
Four weeks ago: 197,960
Hospitals in zero states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in three states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in zero 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: New York COVID cases plummet 38% as mask mandate lifted
