NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — For the fourth day in a row, New York smashed its record for single-day COVID-19 cases with nearly 24,000 new positive results being reported statewide — 15,000 of which were reported in New York City marking a 50% increase in the five boroughs since Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday.
"We knew the winter surge was coming, We've been talking about this ... [this] is a vertical increase in the number of cases," Hochul said during her afternoon news conference.
Hochul said the number of positive cases increased four times in the last week, urging the nearly 20% of New York adults who aren't fully vaccinated to act now.
Nearly 83% of New York City adults and 86% of Long Island adults are vaccinated, with nearly 95% of New Yorkers having had at least one dose.
However, the Democrat said that resistance to vaccinations has had a real impact on some hospitals in upstate New York.
"This is putting a real stress on our smaller, upstate healthcare systems and this is even before this omicron surge hits upstate," she said.
Hochul said the current surge is not something New Yorkers have witnessed previously in March 2020 or even in December 2020, but stressed it won't lead to lockdowns.
"We are avoiding a government shutdown because we now have the tools available to all of us — vaccinations, booster shots, masks — particularly for the variant we're dealing with," she said.
The governor also announced additional steps to fight back against the current winter surge that includes:
• $65 million to incentivize counties strained by costs associated with mask and vaccination protocol.
• 10 million free at-home tests, 6 million masks and 7 new testing sites.
• 30 additional teams will be sent to hospitals to assist the National Guard.
In addition, the state has conducted 3.4 million robocalls and texts to remind New Yorkers about vaccines and boosters, while 40 new vaccine and booster popup sites have been installed.
