January 12, 2023
Albany, NY

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

Governor Encourages New Yorkers to Keep Using the Tools to Protect Against and Treat COVID-19: Vaccines, Boosters, Testing and Treatment

38 Statewide Deaths Reported Yesterday

Governor Kathy Hochul today updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19 and outlined basic steps they can take to protect against the spread of viral respiratory infections that become more common in the winter season.

"I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and continue to use all available tools to keep themselves, their loved ones and their communities safe and healthy," Governor Hochul said. "Be sure to stay up to date on vaccine doses, and test before gatherings or travel. If you test positive, talk to your doctor about potential treatment options."

Governor Hochul is urging New Yorkers to take common prevention measures — like staying up to date on vaccines and practicing proper hygiene — to protect from Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), the flu and COVID-19 and reduce the patient burden on local hospitals. The Governor reiterated these basic steps when she updated New Yorkers on the state's winter health preparedness efforts last month.

Last week, the state Department of Health announced that the XBB.1.5. variant is now the most dominant strain in New York, accounting for more than 50 percent of COVID-19 infections statewide. Emerging at a time when both COVID-19 and flu cases remain high, early data indicates that XBB.1.5. is more transmissible than other circulating variants, though there is not yet clear evidence of significant changes to virulence or severity of disease.

The state Department of Health's weekly flu surveillance report shows influenza remaining widespread throughout the state for a thirteenth consecutive week, with a total of 278,886 positive cases across all 62 counties reported to date. The report found that confirmed cases statewide dropped 41 percent, while overall hospitalizations were down 7 percent from the previous week ending on December 31 at 2,375 hospitalizations across the state.

Additionally, there were 43 outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities, the report determined. There was one additional pediatric death, leaving the total at six statewide.

With flu season continuing and infections remaining widespread, Governor Hochul encourages all New Yorkers to get their annual flu vaccine. The flu virus and the virus that causes COVID-19 are both circulating, so getting vaccinated against both is the best way to stay healthy and to avoid added stress to the health care system.

The Health Department is continuing its annual public education campaign, reminding adults and parents to get both flu and COVID-19 shots for themselves and children 6 months and older. For information about flu vaccine clinics, contact the local health department or visit vaccines.gov/find-vaccines/.

Governor Hochul also continues to urge New Yorkers to get their bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosters. Recently, the New York State Department of Health announced new guidance for bivalent COVID-19 booster doses, which are now available for eligible children down to 6 months of age.

The updated boosters are the first to be targeted to the original virus strain and recently circulating variants and are recommended for young New Yorkers and all those eligible. To schedule an appointment for a booster, New Yorkers should contact their local pharmacy, county health department, or healthcare provider; visit vaccines.gov; text their ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233 to find nearby locations.

Today's data is summarized briefly below:

  • Cases Per 100k - 25.14
  • 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 23.46
  • Test Results Reported - 70,368
  • Total Positive - 4,913
  • Percent Positive - 6.44%**
  • 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 7.16%**
  • Patient Hospitalization - 3,688 (-178)
  • Patients Newly Admitted - 560
  • Patients in ICU - 375 (-5)
  • Patients in ICU with Intubation - 144 (+9)
  • Total Discharges - 387,918 (+696)
  • New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 38
  • Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 60,811

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services 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.

Important Note: Effective Monday, April 4, the federal Department of Health and Human Services 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.

  • Total deaths reported to and compiled by the CDC - 77,308

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.

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

RegionMonday, January 9, 2023Tuesday, January 10, 2023Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Capital Region 16.7117.8215.68
Central New York 15.3315.9216.14
Finger Lakes 13.5613.8914.44
Long Island 32.2331.7829.26
Mid-Hudson 28.4428.5027.17
Mohawk Valley 16.4816.8116.90
New York City 28.0628.2226.83
North Country 13.2013.5013.88
Southern Tier 13.2513.3412.25
Western New York 13.0513.1313.23
Statewide 24.5424.6823.46

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

Region Monday, January 9, 2023Tuesday, January 10, 2023Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Capital Region8.48%8.55%7.46%
Central New York6.91%6.76%6.65%
Finger Lakes6.93%6.74%6.81%
Long Island8.30%8.01%7.69%
Mid-Hudson8.78%8.26%7.45%
Mohawk Valley8.19%7.68%8.17%
New York City7.27%6.97%6.76%
North Country6.62%6.60%6.81%
Southern Tier6.71%6.62%6.60%
Western New York11.74%11.15%11.36%
Statewide7.75%7.45%7.16%

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services 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 **:

Borough in NYC Monday, January 9, 2023Tuesday, January 10, 2023Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Bronx8.73%8.27%8.63%
Kings5.51%5.30%4.84%
New York6.71%6.39%6.71%
Queens9.67%9.24%9.06%
Richmond7.36%7.19%6.96%

** Due to the test reporting policy change by the federal Department of Health and Human Services 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, 4,913 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 6,499,315. A geographic breakdown is as follows:

County Total PositiveNew Positive
Albany77,42243
Allegany10,6509
Broome57,72220
Cattaraugus19,00014
Cayuga20,06015
Chautauqua28,94717
Chemung26,31512
Chenango11,6701
Clinton22,12616
Columbia13,5343
Cortland13,1105
Delaware9,9663
Dutchess83,23852
Erie264,696143
Essex7,5304
Franklin11,9128
Fulton16,3319
Genesee16,36113
Greene10,7575
Hamilton1,087-
Herkimer17,15510
Jefferson26,48532
Lewis7,2282
Livingston14,1806
Madison16,5479
Monroe188,963113
Montgomery14,8119
Nassau541,323345
Niagara58,65030
NYC3,034,6822,481
Oneida67,93560
Onondaga140,36389
Ontario25,74022
Orange137,236139
Orleans10,3656
Oswego33,99132
Otsego13,0563
Putnam31,04732
Rensselaer41,08424
Rockland117,061100
Saratoga60,54248
Schenectady42,90630
Schoharie6,4925
Schuyler4,293-
Seneca7,5424
St. Lawrence25,9209
Steuben25,0138
Suffolk560,459455
Sullivan24,13835
Tioga13,8706
Tompkins26,11416
Ulster42,22233
Warren18,59916
Washington15,4926
Wayne21,58123
Westchester329,596278
Wyoming9,8172
Yates4,3833

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:

RegionCOVID-19 Patients currently hospitalizedAdmitted due to COVID or complications of COVID% Admitted due to COVID or complications of COVIDAdmitted where COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission% Admitted where COVID was not included as one of the reasons for admission
Capital Region1639357.1%7042.9%
Central New York1146052.6%5447.4%
Finger Lakes3009331.0%20769.0%
Long Island73433946.2%39553.8%
Mid-Hudson46420744.6%25755.4%
Mohawk Valley481939.6%2960.4%
New York City1,55064241.4%90858.6%
North Country553767.3%1832.7%
Southern Tier762127.6%5572.4%
Western New York1846837.0%11663.0%
Statewide3,6881,57942.8%2,10957.2%

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, there were 38 total new deaths reported due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 60,811. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

CountyNew Deaths
Albany1
Bronx2
Cattaraugus1
Columbia1
Erie4
Essex1
Jefferson1
Kings4
Livingston1
Nassau4
New York1
Orange1
Orleans1
Queens7
Rensselaer1
Richmond2
Rockland1
Suffolk3
Westchester1
Grand Total38

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, 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.

Contact the Governor’s Press Office

Contact us by phone:

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

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