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#NY statewide COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations climbing

“#NY statewide COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations climbing”

ALBANY — Hospitalizations and New York’s positive statewide COVID-19 infection rate saw increases Friday, according to the latest data released by the state Health Department.

The overall infection rate jumped to 1.25 percent on Friday — a slight uptick from Thursday’s positivity recorded at 1.09 percent and Wednesday’s rate of 0.95 percent.

Hospitalizations also increased by a reported 21 patients admitted, up to 918 from 897 on Thursday, but is down from 938 total individuals recorded in hospitals throughout the Empire State on Wednesday, Oct. 14.

Meanwhile, the majority of the state’s 10 regions sustained positive infection rates of over one percent between Thursday and Friday — with New York City at 1.2 percent, Mid-Hudson at 1.89 percent.

Finger Lakes at 1.54 percent, the Southern Tier at 1.6 percent, Long Island at 1.1 percent and Central New York at 1.24 percent.

Only three regions were able to keep infection rates below the one percent threshold, with the Capital Region at 0.7 percent, the Mohawk Valley at 0.3 percent and the North Country at 0.5 percent.

The state’s ‘red zone’ cluster areas experienced a cumulative 4.84 percent positive infection rate — the same rate as Thursday — which includes increased testing in designated containment areas located in parts of Brooklyn and Queens, as well as Rockland, Orange and Broome counties.

Ten New Yorkers passed away from the virus, out of 25,628 total confirmed COVID-19 deaths since March.

Although Johns Hopkins University’s own virus tracker reports 33,337 confirmed or pursued deaths in the state tied to the virus.