NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- After reporting more than 5,000 new COVID cases for two straight days, New York state saw just over 3,600 cases Sunday as hospitalizations continued to rise.
The state reported 3,649 cases out of 133,202 tests conducted Saturday, a statewide positivity rate of 2.74%. There were 1,457 new cases in New York City, which had a positivity rate of 2.2%.
It comes after the state reported 5,388 cases Saturday and 5,401 cases Friday. Like the rest of the country, the tri-state has seen an uptick in COVID in recent weeks. New Jersey reported a record number of cases for the second day in a row Sunday.
New York's hospitalizations rose by 57 Sunday to 1,845, including 266 newly admitted patients. Of those patients, 378 were in intensive care—an increase of 11 since the day before. The number of intubated patients rose by 12 to 158.
The state also reported 30 more COVID-related deaths, bringing the state's death toll to 26,133 people.
"What we're seeing now as COVID rages across the country and world is what scientists told us time and time again would happen as the colder months arrived," Cuomo said in a statement Sunday.
"These next few weeks will be challenging as the holidays arrive. We all want to be with our loved ones, especially after this hard year, but we must remain vigilant. We all have COVID fatigue, but we simply don't have the luxury of letting our guard down—COVID isn't tired," the governor continued.
Cuomo implored New Yorkers to continue wearing masks, social distancing and following gathering limits, warning that "these next few weeks are key in maintaining our progress."
