New New York Covid cases surge, but hospitalizations are still low

Albany, NY – New cases of Covid-19 are increasing rapidly in New York City and have more than doubled since late June.

The average number of new cases per day over seven days fell from 307 on June 25 to 692 on Tuesday. That’s an increase of over 125%.

The state confirmed 956 new cases yesterday, the highest one-day total since the end of May. It was after several days in late June when the daily total fell below 300.

The most contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is causing spikes in new cases in several parts of the country, according to the New York Times. Regions with large numbers of unvaccinated people experience the worst increases.

But even in places like New York City, where larger chunks of the population are getting vaccinated, cases are on the rise.

Other parts of the state are also seeing the trend.

In central New York City, the seven-day average percentage of people who tested positive for the virus was 0.86% on Wednesday, up from 0.4% at times in June, according to state data.

The rate of positive tests statewide is also on the rise. It was 1.17% yesterday and the seven-day average was 1.04%. This is the first time the seven-day average has exceeded 1% since May.

Those numbers are still well below levels seen during the outbreak last fall and winter, when the state set a historic record of nearly 20,000 new cases in one day in January. The average seven-day positive test rate was close to 8% at one point.

Experts say the nation is unlikely to face another such wave thanks to Covid vaccines, according to the Times. All the shots approved so far have been shown to be effective against the Delta variant, especially in stopping hospitalizations and deaths.

In New York, hospitalizations have remained stable, despite the jump in new cases.

Covid hospitalizations in the state fell from nine Wednesday to 340. This is largely in line with numbers seen on most days in recent weeks.

Only 75 people were in intensive care units with Covid, down from four, and 34 were intubated, up from one.

New deaths also remained low. Three people in the state died from the virus on Wednesday, bringing the statewide death toll to 43,023.

The New York vaccination campaign continues.

So far, more than 61% of all New Yorkers have received at least one injection and more than 55% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state ended nearly all remaining Covid rules in June after hitting 70% of adults with at least one dose.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in New York: cases, maps, charts and resources

How many cases of Covid reported in each CNY district this school year? Who had the most, the least?

Wegmans is bringing self-service food bars back to some stores; what about the Syracuse region?

Which CNY restaurants received a portion of the $ 30 billion in federal grants? See the searchable list

Full coronavirus coverage at syracuse.com

Contact Kevin Tampone at any time: E-mail | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598