New York hits new six-month low in COVID infection rate as pandemic eases: Cuomo

The coronavirus infection rate continued to drop in New York, hitting a new six-month statewide low in test positivity as other numbers continued to drop, Gov. Cuomo said Saturday.

The rate of COVID-19 tests that came back positive stood at just 1.6% in the previous 24 hours, a level not seen since Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020.

“New York is beating back COVID every single day as more people take the vaccine and we continue to keep the positivity and hospitalization rates down,” Cuomo said. “The numbers are all trending in the right direction.”

The weeklong positivity rate also dropped to 1.89%, a level last hit Nov. 6.

Public health experts say the successful vaccination effort is keeping a lid on a resurgence of the deadly virus in New York and elsewhere despite the spread of more contagious variants.

There were 3,752 new coronavirus cases reported in the state in the latest tally, a low not seen since around Thanksgiving.

Hospitalizations dipped to 2,732, a drop of about 15% in the past week alone.

Twenty-five New Yorkers died of COVID-19, including 13 who were residents of New York City.

An increasing number of New Yorkers are vaccinated against COVID, likely keeping the infection, hospitalization and death rates moving down.

More than 15.5 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state so far, including 1.2 million in the past week, a number that has dipped as many who wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible have already received their jabs.

About 46% of all New Yorkers have received at least one vaccine dose and 34% are fully vaccinated. Numbers are much higher among the elderly who are most vulnerable to death and serious illness.