Archive: NYS COVID-19 Resources & Information
1/6/21

In the rapidly changing dynamics of combating the Coronavirus, information is updated constantly. This archive is being provided as an additional resource for those seeking to learn more about how New York State is addressing COVID-19.

LATEST NEWS & INFORMATION - 1/6/21     

From Governor Cuomo's latest Zoom debriefing:

OVERVIEW

  • Day 312
  • Statewide positivity rate without micro-clusters: 8.13%
  • Statewide rate with micro-clusters: 8.41%
  • Micro-cluster rate: 9%
  • 197,816 tests conducted
  • 161 deaths
  • 8,665 hospitalizations, up 75
  • 1,408 ICU patients, up 16
  • 877 intubations, up 26

REGONAL HOSPITALIZATIONS 

- Finger Lakes: 934 (0.08%)
- Western NY: 540 (0.04%)
- Southern Tier: 220 (0.03%)
- Mid Hudson: 984 (0.04%)
- Central NY: 403 (0.05%)
- Mohawk Valley: 306 (0.06%)
- NYC: 3,107 (0.04%)
- Long Island: 1,614 (0.06%)
- Capital Region: 472 (0.04%)
- North Country: 85 (0.02%)

POSITIVITY RATE

- Finger Lakes: 10.29%
- Western NY: 8.76%
- Southern Tier: 5.56%
- Mid Hudson: 8.18%
- Central NY: 9.13%
- Mohawk Valley: 10.67%
- NYC: 6.39%
- Long Island: 9.52%
- Capital Region: 10.07%
- North Country: 9.19%
- Manhattan 3.98%
- Staten Island:7.82%
- Brooklyn: 6.38%
- Queens: 7.47%
- Bronx: 7.48% 

VACCINE

  • The first priority is to protect hospital capacity and staff, particularly with new strain being found in NY.
  • The hospital staff vaccination rate has been improving dramatically this week, has tripled since Monday.
  • If a hospital hits unacceptable refusal rate among staff, the vaccine will be reallocated to another facility that needs it.
  • 85% of hospital staff surveyed will accept the vaccine.
  • The next tier after healthcare workers is over 6 million people, Gov. said it may take weeks or months to vaccinate.
  • Large scale distribution to the general public is expected in March or April. 

FEDERAL 

  • NYS sent a letter today to DHS Secretary Wolf, CDC Director Redfield, requesting US Customs and Border Protection test all incoming international travelers.
  • The UK strain case in Saratoga may be a result of travel to the UK.
  • Cuomo says NYS was subject to $15 billion in COVID damage, lower Medicaid reimbursement rates, cuts to infrastructure funding, cessation of trusted traveler program. 

FROM THE Q&A 

On legalization of marijuana:

  • Cuomo believes legalizing marijuana should have been done years ago.
  • Budget Director Mujica stated legalizing marijuana once fully effective, $300 million a year will be realized. 

On vaccine compliance:

  • It will be difficult to get to 70-90% vaccination rate.
  • An aggressive education campaign will be released once the vaccine is available to the general public. 

On new strain/travel restrictions:

  • Cuomo contacted airlines from the UK to prevent the strain coming into NY when it was first discovered.
  • The person who has the confirmed case was in contact with someone who had traveled to the UK.
  • Numerous mutations can be expected, saying this underscores the need for travel restrictions and testing travelers.