NYC COVID-19 Infection Data Reveals 2,000 New Cases

The surge in coronavirus cases in the Big Apple continued unabated on Friday as new statistics from the Department of Health reveal the city is now recording an average of 2,000 new cases every day.

The 2,043 new cases revealed on Friday represent a doubling of the average number of new cases in just one month, up from 1,098 reported on the same day in November – and nearly eight times the roughly 300 new cases reported daily in early September.

Additionally, the percentage of COVID-19 tests returning positive climbed to 5.4%, returning to levels last seen at the end of May, as New York City slowly emerged from lockdown to push back. the first wave of infections.

“This is something we should all be very concerned about,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told WNYC’s Brian Lehrer during his weekly appearance on the radio show. “This is a really serious situation and we are now working with the state to find additional measures that we need to take.”

Positivity rates have risen dramatically over the past two weeks – it was as low as 1.1 percent in early September.

It was at this point that the rate started a slow rise, reaching 2% in late October, which continued and became a bit galloping in mid-November, when it passed 3%. This triggered the temporary closure of the city’s public school system in-person learning program.

Schools are expected to reopen on Monday in much of the city.

Rising cases and positivity rates led the city’s health commissioner, Dr David Chokshi, to issue a rare and dramatic advisory this week urging all elderly and infirm New Yorkers to scratch all their heads. non-essential activities outside their home – effectively requiring them to begin a voluntary self-lock.

Meanwhile, statistics from state officials have shown that the statewide positivity rate remains above 5% – at 5.4% – and that the state’s coronavirus hot spots have an average positivity rate of 7.3%.

There are about 4,000 New Yorkers in hospitals with the dangerous virus, including 795 in intensive care units.

As the dreaded second wave of coronavirus infections began to crash across the five boroughs, de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the whole city could be placed under coronavirus restrictions from the “ orange zone. ”. These rules would once again suspend indoor dining and order the temporary closure of gyms, lounges and other similar personal care services in a bid to bring infection rates back under control.

Under state rules, orange zones may be imposed in areas where measurements released by the state’s health department show significant and sustained increases in positivity rates.

Hizzoner went so far as to predict that new restrictions could be imposed across the city as early as early December last month, but the positivity rate in the five boroughs has increased more slowly than initially expected, giving local businesses some flexibility.

But, some sections of New York were not so lucky. The south shore of Staten Island was brought under Orange Zone rules in late November to contain an outbreak there, which sparked protests from locals.