Governor Hochul Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress Combating COVID-19

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19.

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is no longer requiring testing facilities that use COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to report negative results. As a result, New York State's percent positive metric will be computed using only lab-reported PCR results. Positive antigen tests will still be reported to New York State and reporting of new daily cases and cases per 100k will continue to include both PCR and antigen tests. Due to this change and other factors, including changes in testing practices, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

"This holiday weekend will be a time of celebration for many of us, making it all the more important that we take the proper precautions against the spread of this virus," Governor Hochul said. "There are two new and highly contagious variants circulating, so if you are travelling get tested, and if you test positive please stay home and consult your doctor on available treatments. Be smart, wear your mask if you're around vulnerable family members and think it's necessary, and make sure the friends and family you are spending time with are vaccinated and boosted if eligible."

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

• Cases Per 100k - 34.47
• 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 28.88
• Test Results Reported - 137,654
• Total Positive - 6,737
• Percent Positive - 4.71%**
• 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 4.68%
• Patient Hospitalization - 1,216 (+30)
• Patients Newly Admitted - 253
• Patients in ICU - 147 (+3)
• Patients in ICU with Intubation - 63 (-3)
• Total Discharges - 293,129 (+226)
• New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 9
• Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 55,265

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

The Health Electronic Response Data System is a NYS DOH data source that collects confirmed daily death data as reported by hospitals, nursing homes and adult care facilities only.

• Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 70,488

This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings.

• Total vaccine doses administered - 37,934,699
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 24 hours - 37,045
• Total vaccine doses administered over past 7 days - 233,438
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose - 92.2%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series - 83.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 95.0%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 18 and older with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 86.5%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 82.8%
• Percent of New Yorkers ages 12-17 with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 72.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose - 81.7%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series - 73.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with at least one vaccine dose (CDC) - 89.9%
• Percent of all New Yorkers with completed vaccine series (CDC) - 76.5%

Each region's 7-day average of cases per 100K population is as follows **:

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

Each region's 7-day average percentage of positive test results reported over the last three days is as follows**:

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

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

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and several other factors, the most reliable metric to measure virus impact on a community is the case per 100,000 data -- not percent positivity.

Yesterday 6,737 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 5,044,193. A geographic breakdown is as follows:

Below is data that shows how many hospitalized individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 were admitted for COVID-19/COVID-19 complications and how many were admitted for non-COVID-19 conditions:

The Omicron variant now represents more than 95% of the viruses in circulation. For more information on variant tracking, please visit here: (COVID-19 Variant Data | Department of Health (ny.gov).

Yesterday, 9 New Yorkers died due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 55,256. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

All New York State mass vaccination sites are open to eligible New Yorkers aged 5 and older, with walk-in vaccination available at all sites on a first-come, first-serve basis for people aged 12 and older. Information on which sites require appointments for children in the 5-11 age group is available on our website. People who prefer to make an appointment at a state-run mass vaccination site can do so on the Am I Eligible App or by calling 1-833-NYS-4-VAX. People may also contact their local health department, pharmacy, doctor or hospital to schedule appointments where vaccines are available, or visit vaccines.gov to find information on vaccine appointments near them.

New Yorkers looking to schedule vaccine appointments for 5-11-year-old children are encouraged to contact their child's pediatrician, family physician, county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), rural health centers, or pharmacies that may be administering the vaccine for this age group. Parents and guardians can visit vaccines.gov, text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations. Make sure that the provider offers the Pfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine, as the other COVID-19 vaccines are not yet authorized for this age group.

Visit our website for parents and guardians for new information, frequently asked questions and answers, and resources specifically designed for parents and guardians of this age group.

Yesterday, 3,113 New Yorkers received their first vaccine dose, and 3,088completed their vaccine series. A geographic breakdown of New Yorkers who have been vaccinated by region is as follows:

The COVID-19 VaccineTracker Dashboard is available to update New Yorkers on the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. The New York State Department of Health requires vaccinating facilities to report all COVID-19 vaccine administration data within 24 hours; the vaccine administration data on the dashboard is updated daily to reflect the most up-to-date metrics in the state's vaccination effort. New York State Department of Health-reported data from NYSIIS and CIR differs slightly from federally-reported data, which is inclusive of federally-administered doses and other minor differences. Both numbers are included in the release above.