Cuomo raises alarm about new virus hot spots

Gov. Andrew Cuomo raised alarm Monday about the emergence of a handful of coronavirus hot spots in New York, saying just 10 ZIP codes represented more than a quarter of the state’s new infections in recent testing.

New York has reported just over 11,500 new COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks, according to state figures.

A disproportionate number of new cases have come from a handful of communities in New York City and its northern suburbs that are home to many Orthodox Jews, who on Monday were marking the high holiday of Yom Kippur.

Of the 834 new cases reported Sunday, 27% were in a group of 10 ZIP codes that included several Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens and in several Hasidic communities in Rockland County. An area north of Binghamton in New York’s Southern Tier also saw an unusual number of positive tests.

Health officials in the city and in Rockland and Orange counties have previously raised concerns about rising rates in Hasidic communities, which saw students at religious schools return to in-person learning in early September. Public schools in the city are rolling out inperson learning this week.

Cuomo declined to single out any particular group for the spike.

“Whatever the population, the answer’s going to be the same — it’s compliance,” Cuomo told reporters Monday afternoon.

He urged school leaders to put in requests now for rapid testing machines, which Cuomo said have a 15 minute turnaround for results. The governor said the state has 200 rapid testing machines available for those communities.

“The key with these clusters is to jump on them quickly, attack on all sides,” he said.

Cuomo also called on local government officials to better enforce COVID-19 restrictions in bars, restaurants and other gatherings.

New York City health officials have said they are considering re-imposing restrictions on gatherings in select city neighborhoods where the virus was spreading.

Cuomo acknowledged people are getting sick of wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart, but cautioned, “You’ll offend them even more deeply if you start doing close-downs, and that’s what’s going to happen.”