Average number of new NY Covid cases jumps 154%; hospitalizations are increasing

Albany, NY – New cases of Covid-19 in New York City climbed to more than 1,100 on Monday after falling below 1,000 the day before.

The state confirmed 1,144 new cases of Covid on Monday, up from 823 on Sunday. The state also saw more than 1,100 new cases per day Friday and Saturday.

Cases have jumped rapidly since they hit less than 300 a day at times in late June. The seven-day average number of new cases in the state increased by more than 154% from July 1 to July 18.

And after remaining stable for several weeks despite an increase in cases, Covid hospitalizations are also increasing.

They went from 46 Monday to 424. It was the first time that hospitalizations exceeded 400 since June 24. They have increased by 21% since July 1.

The percentage of people testing positive for the coronavirus has also increased, although the state is testing fewer people now than before. This could skew the rate of positive tests.

New York routinely tested over 200,000 people a day, but the total fell below 80,000 on most days in July.

Statewide, 1.67% of tests for the virus came back positive on Monday. The seven-day average was 1.31%, down from a low of 0.3% in June.

All regions of the state are experiencing increases. The seven-day average positive rate was 1.81% in the capital region on Monday and the rate in Long Island was 1.66%. Both regions were previously below 1%.

The average positive rate in central New York was 1.06% yesterday, down from 1% the day before and a low point of 0.4% in June.

The numbers so far are nowhere near the levels seen during the spike in cases last fall and winter. At one point in January, the state hit an all-time high in new cases in one day with nearly 20,000.

More than 9,000 people were hospitalized with Covid at the worst of the peak and the average seven-day positive test rate statewide was nearly 8%.

In addition, new deaths from Covid remain low, with only two yesterday. The statewide death toll is now 43,036.

The number of people in intensive care units is also still low. It was 89 Monday, although it was 10 more than the day before. The number of people intubated has increased from three to 33.

So far, the state has not implemented any new precautions in response to the latest increase in cases, although its vaccination campaign continues.

More than 61% of all New Yorkers have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and 56% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state has started closing some of its mass vaccination sites in recent weeks and today announced the closure of four more. Binghamton University’s vaccination sites at Gannett Drive, Aviation Mall in Queensbury, Stony Brook Southampton and the Diana Center at State University of New York Orange will close on July 26.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said it plans to shift resources from mass sites to efforts focused on areas with low fire rates.

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