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What there is to know
- Officials in New York are working on a COVID-19 winter plan in anticipation of an increase in cases during the colder months.
- During his Thanksgiving Day coronavirus press briefing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo detailed what the plan will focus on.
- The new winter plan would change the rules for the red, orange and yellow zones. The idea is to impose restrictions based not only on infection rates, but also on the number of hospitalizations.
Officials in New York are working on a COVID-19 winter plan in anticipation of an increase in cases during the colder months.
During his Thanksgiving Day press briefing on the coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo detailed what the plan will focus on.
“What we’re going to do over this Thanksgiving weekend and next week, we’re going to be working on a winter plan now,” Cuomo said. “All the world experts say the same thing: this virus has phases and as the phases change, your plan should change.”
Although the state must weigh the consequences of the Thanksgiving holiday into its plan, Cuomo said, “There are a number of theories about how severe the increase is after Thanksgiving, but they all predict an increase after Thanksgiving. We see air travelers increase, we see car travelers increase and we know that the more social activity, the higher the infection rate. ”
According to the governor, the winter plan will continue with a micro-cluster approach in which certain areas are considered yellow, orange or red areas depending on their infection rates. With each zone, restrictions will be put in place in that particular zone.
“On the winter level, we are going to stay with the micro-cluster approach because the targets spread, it minimizes the economic impact and it emphasizes individual and community responsibility and responsibility. It works. so very good, ”he said.
The new winter plan would change the rules for the red, orange and yellow zones. The idea is to impose restrictions based not only on infection rates, but also on the number of hospitalizations.
Daily percentage of positive tests by New York region
Governor Andrew Cuomo divides the state into 10 regions for testing and tracks positivity rates to identify potential hot spots. Here is the latest monitoring data by region and for the five boroughs. For the latest county-wide statewide results, click here
Cuomo said the state is looking to add factors to the yellow, orange and red zones, “including the hospitalization rate and the availability of hospital beds, intensive care beds, as this is the worst-case scenario. … an infection rate in a place that has fewer hospital beds is more serious than an infection rate in a place that has fewer hospital beds, so this is one of the exercises that we are going through now. “
Another element of the winter plan will be to keep schools open, especially K-8. “Junior high, high [school] is a different situation, ”Cuomo said.
The governor said that through the winter plan, the state aims to keep “schools open and keep them open by setting a safe positivity rate. All the data indicates that schools are safer than the surrounding community ”.
Part of the equation for keeping schools open is continuing testing in schools.
“We need a sustainable screening rate in schools,” Cuomo said. “In other words, if we are to keep schools open, it has to be a level of testing that local school districts can provide for an extended period … you have to get through the winter.”
The governor said the state needs to balance the number of tests in schools, with the number of tests in nursing homes, as well as the number of tests for essential workers.
The third element of the potential plan will focus on developing a vaccine distribution plan that is “equitable” and “efficient”.
While details will be worked out in the coming days, Cuomo said the state is in conversation with local governments as it drafts its winter plan.
Cuomo revealed Thursday that an additional 6,933 positive COVID-19 cases have been reported for a positive state rate of 3.18%. The latest data also reveals a total of 3,056 coronavirus-related hospitalizations and 67 deaths across New York City.
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