NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The COVID-19 death toll in New York state is expected to top 70,000 this week as state officials express confidence despite new concerns about the BA.2 subvariant.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 69,980 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The most recent milestone comes three months after the Empire State surpassed 60,000 deaths amid surging omicron cases.
While there's been plenty of concern about the emergence of the newest BA.2 variant, state health commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett and Gov. Kathy Hochul are maintaining a sense of calm, despite a recent uptick in cases.
"Our cases per hundred thousand, our overall positivity, 2%. 23% just back in January. So these numbers are really a positive sign of how far we've come thus far, but always being vigilant," Hochul said. "Hospitalizations, again, this is always a lagging indicator behind new cases, infections, illness sets in, hospitalizations, and then deaths at the end."
She added, "And we did lose six New Yorkers yesterday, and we've over 900 people still in hospitals, but the trends have been going way down. And so this is something that we think is a tremendous story. And again, our new admissions."
Bassett also stressed confidence during the first first COVID-19 briefing since lifting most of the COVID-19 mask mandates.
"We don't expect to see a steep surge in cases in New York state," she said.
While the new subvariant is more transmissible, with about 42% of cases statewide, Bassett said New York has not seen "the kind of rate of growth" seen in other parts of the world, including the United Kingdom.
"I just want anyone to know that we've never taken our foot off the gas when it comes to our preparedness for dealing with this pandemic," she said. "We never had a high five moment and said it's over. We're in a new phase."
Hochul continued to maintain a positive outlook for where New York has come.
Bassett said it's "no surprise" that New York is seeing an uptick "as society opens up more and as this virus continues to adapt to human beings and to our vaccines."
"Yesterday's data showed that New York City, which has been the COVID gateway for our state, has gone up relative to the past seven days. The seven-day average a week ago was eight per hundred thousand. It's now up to 11," she continued.
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