‘1 PERCENTERS’
NY’s COVID rate low for a month
New York state has gone four straight weeks with a coronavirus infection rate of under 1 percent, Gov. Cuomo announced Friday.
There’s even better news for New York City.
The Big Apple’s COVID-19 infection rate on Thursday was 0.7 percent — seven-tenths of one percent — less than the statewide average of 0.92 percent.
Five people in the city died from the killer bug on Thursday — two in Manhattan and one each in The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. “Thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers across the state, New York has now gone four straight weeks with an infection rate below 1 percent,” Cuomo said in a statement. “Next week, malls in New York City and casinos across the state will be able to open, marking another milestone in our battle against COVID-19. But we cannot become complacent — we must continue to protect our progress. We must all continue to wear masks, social distance, wash our hands and above all stay New York tough.”
Still, New York City is the only region in the state where restaurants are barred from offering indoor dining, even though it has one of the lowest infection rates in the state. The state Health Department reported that 25,348 people have died from COVID-19. But the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Centers links 32,976 deaths in New York state to the disease.
New York has curbed COVID-19 after it ravaged the state in the early spring, recording more deaths than anywhere in the country. The Empire State now has one of the lowest infection rates.
The Health Department reported 864 new coronavirus cases on Thursday — bringing the statewide total to 437,971.
Authorities are now closely watching college campuses, which have suffered flare-ups since reopening for the fall semester. Cornell has reported a cluster of cases among its student athletes and SUNY Oneonta canceled in-person classes and moved to remote learning after 300 students caught the virus.