December 21, 2020
Albany, NY

Governor Cuomo Announces British Airways and Delta Airlines Agree to Test All Passengers Before Entering New York State

Asks Virgin Atlantic to Join British Airways and Delta Airlines in Voluntarily Testing Passengers Before Boarding Flights to New York

6,331 Patient Hospitalizations Statewide

1,095 Patients in the ICU; 613 Intubated

Statewide Positivity Rate is 5.75%

109 COVID-19 Deaths in New York State Yesterday

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that in the wake of a new, highly contagious variant of the COVID-19 virus found in the United Kingdom, British Airways and Delta Airlines have voluntarily agreed to require a COVID-19 test before allowing passengers to board planes traveling from the United Kingdom to New York. With this move, New York joins the list of 120 countries with a similar requirement on flights from the U.K. The Governor has asked Virgin Atlantic, the other airline that runs flights from the U.K. to New York, to do the same. The Governor is also continuing to call on the federal government to impose enhanced travel restrictions, as 120 other countries have done, to avoid the same grave mistakes of the spring where the virus entered New York from Europe with no warning.

"When you do not require flights from the U.K to be tested, you are allowing thousands of U.K. passengers to arrive here every day and based on New York's experience in the spring, I believe this new, highly contagious strain of COVID-19 is already here," Governor Cuomo said. "This is another disaster waiting to happen and all efforts must be placed into averting another crisis. Now, it's on the federal government to do its job, correct the wrongs of the past and take swift action to impose enhanced travel restrictions just as 120 other countries have done."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

  • Test Results Reported - 156,510
  • Tested Positive - 9,007
  • Percent Positive - 5.75%
  • Patient Hospitalization - 6,331 (+146)
  • Patients Newly Admitted - 700
  • Hospital Counties - 55
  • Number ICU - 1,095 (+50)
  • Number ICU with Intubation - 613 (+13)
  • Total Discharges - 95,779 (+472)
  • Deaths - 109
  • Total Deaths - 28,709

The regional hospital bed capacity and occupancy numbers, including the number of hospitalizations as a percent of the region's population, is as follows:

Region

COVID Patients Currently in Hospital in Region

COVID Patients as Percent of Region Population

Percent of Hospital Beds Available in Region (7-Day Avg)

Capital Region

348

0.03%

25%

Central New York

407

0.05%

28%

Finger Lakes

735

0.06%

31%

Long Island

1,074

0.04%

25%

Mid-Hudson

745

0.03%

33%

Mohawk Valley

205

0.04%

31%

New York City

2,112

0.03%

28%

North Country

57

0.01%

49%

Southern Tier

174

0.03%

45%

Western New York

474

0.03%

29%

Statewide

6,331

0.03%

30%

The regional ICU bed capacity and occupancy numbers are as follows:

Region

Total ICU Beds in Region

Total Occupied ICU Beds in Region

Percent of ICU Beds Available in Region (7-day Avg)

Capital Region

223

177

27%

Central New York

275

206

31%

Finger Lakes

397

266

31%

Long Island

828

616

26%

Mid-Hudson

712

425

42%

Mohawk Valley

132

93

27%

New York City

2,356

1,722

29%

North Country

71

34

50%

Southern Tier

125

79

37%

Western New York

545

327

43%

NYS TOTAL

5,664

3,945

32%

Yesterday, 156,510 test results were reported to New York State, and 5.75 percent were positive. Each region's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

REGION

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Capital Region

6.78%

6.89%

6.92%

Central New York

6.98%

6.70%

6.64%

Finger Lakes

8.45%

8.34%

8.28%

Long Island

6.19%

6.30%

6.39%

Mid-Hudson

6.27%

6.36%

6.25%

Mohawk Valley

8.24%

8.18%

8.46%

New York City

4.22%

4.24%

4.28%

North Country

4.59%

4.99%

5.10%

Southern Tier

2.46%

2.49%

2.39%

Western New York

6.64%

6.37%

6.42%

Statewide

5.36%

5.38%

5.39%

Each New York City borough's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows:

BOROUGH

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Bronx

4.78%

4.92%

5.01%

Brooklyn

4.33%

4.36%

4.43%

Manhattan

2.77%

2.72%

2.75%

Queens

4.80%

4.82%

4.83%

Staten Island

5.30%

5.38%

5.44%

Of the 857,049 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County

Total Positive

New Positive

Albany

9,377

203

Allegany

1,576

17

Broome

7,083

79

Cattaraugus

2,055

18

Cayuga

2,118

98

Chautauqua

2,823

53

Chemung

4,106

23

Chenango

988

16

Clinton

804

9

Columbia

1,375

23

Cortland

1,745

32

Delaware

590

9

Dutchess

10,405

167

Erie

36,788

388

Essex

443

4

Franklin

591

15

Fulton

1,056

24

Genesee

2,080

39

Greene

999

12

Hamilton

85

3

Herkimer

1,495

44

Jefferson

1,344

42

Lewis

673

18

Livingston

1,432

34

Madison

1,897

32

Monroe

28,319

571

Montgomery

973

25

Nassau

77,088

766

Niagara

6,972

127

NYC

383,811

3,338

Oneida

9,571

166

Onondaga

17,860

274

Ontario

2,568

60

Orange

21,148

76

Orleans

1,081

25

Oswego

2,827

45

Otsego

1,016

11

Putnam

4,168

41

Rensselaer

3,226

58

Rockland

25,413

138

Saratoga

4,179

83

Schenectady

4,578

90

Schoharie

426

8

Schuyler

445

4

Seneca

607

21

St. Lawrence

1,613

29

Steuben

2,825

40

Suffolk

83,112

978

Sullivan

2,714

17

Tioga

1,480

9

Tompkins

1,798

17

Ulster

4,926

76

Warren

843

7

Washington

651

10

Wayne

2,018

41

Westchester

63,373

433

Wyoming

1,088

19

Yates

404

2

Yesterday, 109 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 28,709. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

Deaths by County of Residence

County

New Deaths

Albany

3

Bronx

3

Broome

2

Cattaraugus

1

Chautauqua

1

Chemung

1

Cortland

1

Erie

12

Genesee

1

Herkimer

1

Kings

3

Lewis

1

Livingston

1

Madison

3

Manhattan

1

Monroe

7

Montgomery

1

Nassau

6

Niagara

1

Oneida

5

Onondaga

5

Ontario

3

Orange

3

Orleans

1

Oswego

2

Queens

7

Rensselaer

2

Richmond

5

Rockland

1

Saratoga

1

Seneca

1

St. Lawrence

2

Suffolk

13

Ulster

1

Wayne

1

Westchester

5

Yates

1

Contact the Governor's Press Office

Contact us by phone:

Albany: (518) 474 - 8418
New York City: (212) 681 - 4640

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