January 26, 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

34 Statewide Deaths Reported on January 25

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 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.

Recently, the New York 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 New York State Department of Health's weekly flu surveillance report for the week ending January 14, shows influenza remaining widespread throughout the state for a fifteenth consecutive week, with a total of 300,907 positive cases across all 62 counties reported to date. The report found that confirmed cases statewide dropped 50 percent, while overall hospitalizations were down 52 percent from the previous week, with the week, at 798 hospitalizations across the state.

Additionally, there were 13 outbreaks in acute care and long-term care facilities, the report determined. There were two additional pediatric deaths, leaving the total at eight 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. Last month, 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 - 19.76
  • 7-Day Average Cases Per 100k - 17.04
  • Test Results Reported - 56,895
  • Total Positive - 3,862
  • Percent Positive - 6.39%**
  • 7-Day Average Percent Positive - 6.12%**
  • Patient Hospitalization - 2,844 (-185)
  • Patients Newly Admitted - 383
  • Patients in ICU - 312 (-1)
  • Patients in ICU with Intubation - 115 (-9)
  • Total Discharges - 393,926 (+512)
  • New deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 34
  • Total deaths reported by healthcare facilities through HERDS - 61,209

** 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 - 77,552

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:

Region

Monday, January 23, 2023

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Capital Region

14.15

14.18

14.62

Central New York

15.11

15.27

15.47

Finger Lakes

11.52

12.05

12.29

Long Island

17.95

17.42

17.03

Mid-Hudson

21.71

22.03

20.21

Mohawk Valley

17.10

16.78

16.69

New York City

19.77

19.66

18.45

North Country

13.13

14.22

13.54

Southern Tier

12.16

11.98

12.01

Western New York

13.57

13.37

13.63

Statewide

17.84

17.79

17.04

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

Region

Monday, January 23, 2023

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Capital Region

7.52%

7.60%

7.96%

Central New York

7.61%

7.58%

7.52%

Finger Lakes

6.43%

6.39%

6.24%

Long Island

5.62%

5.34%

5.22%

Mid-Hudson

7.97%

7.79%

7.34%

Mohawk Valley

9.47%

9.21%

9.15%

New York City

5.80%

5.60%

5.31%

North Country

7.03%

7.18%

7.09%

Southern Tier

6.80%

6.57%

6.62%

Western New York

12.19%

11.87%

12.15%

Statewide

6.53%

6.34%

6.12%

** 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 23, 2023

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Bronx

7.13%

6.81%

6.46%

Kings

4.95%

4.78%

4.45%

New York

5.78%

5.48%

5.17%

Queens

6.65%

6.50%

6.31%

Richmond

5.73%

5.54%

5.21%

** 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, 3,862 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in New York State, bringing the total to 6,547,717. A geographic breakdown is as follows:

County

Total Positive

New Positive

Albany

78,058

64

Allegany

10,709

3

Broome

58,194

41

Cattaraugus

19,112

11

Cayuga

20,232

12

Chautauqua

29,145

11

Chemung

26,428

15

Chenango

11,717

5

Clinton

22,292

13

Columbia

13,652

19

Cortland

13,184

12

Delaware

10,085

13

Dutchess

84,097

55

Erie

266,428

153

Essex

7,576

4

Franklin

11,967

5

Fulton

16,465

10

Genesee

16,457

12

Greene

10,849

11

Hamilton

1,092

3

Herkimer

17,321

18

Jefferson

26,816

19

Lewis

7,277

2

Livingston

14,257

5

Madison

16,657

10

Monroe

190,168

114

Montgomery

14,926

9

Nassau

544,986

296

Niagara

59,017

32

NYC

3,057,795

1,753

Oneida

68,499

56

Onondaga

141,315

86

Ontario

25,928

13

Orange

138,664

112

Orleans

10,453

8

Oswego

34,267

25

Otsego

13,191

14

Putnam

31,347

22

Rensselaer

41,362

39

Rockland

117,957

78

Saratoga

60,957

49

Schenectady

43,247

25

Schoharie

6,533

1

Schuyler

4,302

2

Seneca

7,601

4

St. Lawrence

26,027

7

Steuben

25,130

6

Suffolk

563,908

277

Sullivan

24,380

21

Tioga

13,921

5

Tompkins

26,268

12

Ulster

42,761

35

Warren

18,731

9

Washington

15,615

16

Wayne

21,705

10

Westchester

332,410

197

Wyoming

9,863

2

Yates

4,416

1

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:

Region

COVID-19 Patients currently hospitalized

Admitted due to COVID or complications of COVID

% Admitted due to COVID or complications of COVID

Admitted 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 Region

156

90

57.7%

66

42.3%

Central New York

107

54

50.5%

53

49.5%

Finger Lakes

277

80

28.9%

197

71.1%

Long Island

486

178

36.6%

308

63.4%

Mid-Hudson

350

153

43.7%

197

56.3%

Mohawk Valley

63

35

55.6%

28

44.4%

New York City

1,153

458

39.7%

695

60.3%

North Country

50

29

58.0%

21

42.0%

Southern Tier

43

10

23.3%

33

76.7%

Western New York

159

61

38.4%

98

61.6%

Statewide

2,844

1,148

40.4%

1,696

59.6%

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 34 total new deaths reported due to COVID-19, bringing the total to 61,209. A geographic breakdown is as follows, by county of residence:

County

New Deaths

Albany

2

Bronx

3

Broome

1

Erie

2

Genesee

1

Greene

1

Kings

4

Monroe

1

Nassau

1

New York

4

Orange

3

Queens

6

Richmond

2

Rockland

1

Suffolk

2

Grand Total

34

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

Translations

الترجمة إلى العربية
বাংলা অনুবাদ
Traduction en français
Tradiksyon kreyòl ayisyen
Traduzione italiana
Polskie tłumaczenie
Перевод на русский язык
Traducción al español
پیلے رنگ سے نمایاں کردہ ٹیکسٹ
אידישע איבערטייטשונג