NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – New York state's coronavirus positivity rate dropped Wednesday to its lowest level since Nov. 25, the day before Thanksgiving, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday.
The state's positivity rate was 5.12% on Monday and 4.02% on Tuesday before dropping to Wednesday's 3.54%.
The state's seven-day average positivity was slightly higher at 4.16%. However, it's the lowest seven-day positivity since Dec. 1, according to Cuomo.
The governor has said in the past that the seven-day rate better reflects the state's positivity, since single-day rates can fluctuate, but both rates have been on a downward trend in recent weeks.
Cuomo said the seven-day rate has been declining for 34 consecutive days and is down 48% since early January, when the "post-holiday peak" in cases was happening.
New York City's seven-day positivity rate also reached its lowest level since Dec. 27 at 4.95%, according to state data. The city's seven-day rate is down 23% since early January, Cuomo said.
The statewide hospitalization total also declined Wednesday by 251 patients to 7,342. That's the lowest rate since Dec. 26, the day after Christmas.
The number of patients in intensive care also declined by 21 patients to 1,402, while the number of intubated patients decreased by 14 patients to 941.
"Across the state, from hospitalizations to infection rate, our numbers are continuing to decline—a sign of hope to all and proof of the dedication New Yorkers have shown to defeating this beast," Cuomo said in a statement Thursday. "We are headed in the right direction, but we are not at the end of the tunnel yet."
While New York saw another day of declines in its virus numbers, it reported an additional 122 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the state's death toll to 36,743, according to state data.
