NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – New York surpassed 1 million COVID cases on Saturday as the state's 30,000-person death toll continued to rise.
The state reported another 15,074 cases, bringing the total past the 1 million mark to 1,005,785 cases. The state's first confirmed case was in New York City on March 1.
More than a third of the state's total cases were in December as the U.S. saw a surge in the virus that has continued this month, according to Bloomberg. On Friday, the nation surpassed 20 million cases.
The new cases in New York on Saturday were out of 202,446 tests—a statewide positivity rate of 7.45%. That's slightly down from the 7.52% positivity rate reported Friday.
On Thursday, New York reported a record-high 16,802 new cases. Another 16,497 cases were reported Friday.
A total of 5,228 new cases were reported in New York City on Saturday. There have been 436,581 confirmed cases in the five boroughs since the pandemic began.
The state reported another 128 deaths on Saturday after reporting 166 deaths Friday. New York's death toll is now 30,337.
Hospitalizations statewide declined by 72 to 7,814. But the number of patients in intensive care rose by 29 to 1,321 and the number of intubated patients increased by 10 to 786. There were 860 hospital discharges.
In a statement Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said New Yorkers can't let COVID fatigue set in during the New Year.
"With 2020 now behind us, we can see brighter days ahead, but to get there quickly, it's going to take all New Yorkers staying smart and staying united," the governor said. "We have the vaccine, and that is good news, but it will be months before we've reached critical mass, making it as important as ever that we do not let COVID fatigue get the best of us."
Cuomo said the state is continuing to work with the medical community to "not only ensure vaccines are distributed as quickly and efficiently as possible, but to also continue growing bed capacity so hospitals do not become overwhelmed."
