NEW YORK (WBEN) — For the fourth day in a row, New York state smashed its record for positive COVID-19 cases, with nearly 24,000 overnight, 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.
451 new COVID-19 cases confirmed for December 19 by ECDOH. 3,485 total cases over the past 7 days. 365 total new cases per 100,000 Erie County residents over the past 7 days. Total cases through December 19: 137,926. @HealthNYGov at https://t.co/bUCPJy0NcZ
— Erie County Department of Health 😷 (@ECDOH) December 20, 2021
Positivity: 9.4% pic.twitter.com/dhAx0i2Hnn
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 vaccination and booster popup sites have been installed.
