NY Prepares For January COVID-19 Surge: 'We Know It's Coming'

LONG ISLAND, NY — With the number of new COVID-19 cases continuing to climb, New Yorkers should expect a new post-holiday surge coming soon, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday.

With the omicron variant "highly unpredictable," health care workers — whom Hochul lauded Wednesday — want to keep serving, but "there's an exhaustion setting in. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude," she said.

Hochul reminded residents that 13 new state testing sites opened as of Wednesday, including two on Long Island: those sites are at IBEW Local 25, 370 Motor Parkway in Hauppauge, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and at Kennedy Memorial Park, 335 Greenwich St. in Hempstead. That location is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

With schools open again on Monday, Hochul pleaded with parents to bring children for vaccinations this week so they will be safe in class.

She discussed the new "test to stay" program in schools, where students will either be tested at their schools or at home, with tests sent home in backpacks. More than 22,000 tests are headed for New York schools, she said, with a total of 37 million rapid tests ordered for New Yorkers in total.

If a child tests positive in class, parents can test their own son or daughter and — if they are not positive, send them back to class and then test them again a few days later, Hochul said.

While not every test has arrived yet, Hochul said, "Every time a plane flies overhead, I wonder if that's the one that has my supplies."

Children need and want to stay in school; last year's remote pivot led to isolation and loneliness, Hochul said.

"Teachers have been through crazy times, and they did an incredible job — they did the very best they could," Hochul said.

She also recommended New Yorkers wear fitted N95 or KN95 masks over the cloth masks with an eye toward enhanced protection.

Looking at data, Hochul said the uptick continues, with 67,000 positive cases reported Tuesday. Those numbers, she said, are a reflection of the spike in tests taken. On Tuesday, New Yorkers took 362,000 tests, with 222 positive cases over a seven-day average per a population of 100,000 statewide, Hochul said.

There may also be a lag time in the numbers due to the holidays, so areas where numbers may be lower should not rest on their proverbial laurels, Hochul said.

A total of 97 New Yorkers died on Tuesday, she said — and 6,700 New Yorkers were hospitalized, lower than last year but still an area of concern, she said.

"This is not the direction we want to go," Hochul said.

The good news is that there has been an 8 percent increase in bed capacity, Hochul said, and only 25 hospitals have suspended elective surgeries due to capacity concerns.

The National Guard has been sent to nursing homes to enhance staffing so patients released from hospitals can return to nursing homes, freeing up bed space, Hochul said.

"We are basically preparing for a January surge. We know it's coming, and we are naive to to think it won't," Hochul said.

Just a few days ago, scores of people traveled across the country, with many still stranded in airports, Hochul said. Airlines have seen cancellations because of staffers quarantined due to COVID-19, she said.

"We do think there is going to be a spike in cases — and in hospitalizations," she said.

With New Year's Eve coming on Friday, Hochul urged New Yorkers to avoid indoor gatherings and perhaps celebrate outdoors with a toast. "If you can avoid gathering indoors, this would be the year to do that," she said.

The goal remains, she said: to protect the health of New Yorkers and to protect the health of the economy.

To that end, Hochul announced $78 million in federal funds are to be distributed to nonprofits and other community groups through community development block grants aimed at protecting the vulnerable, including places where farm workers or seniors gather.

To apply for the grant funding, click here. "Tell us your vision," Hochul said.

While she said she knows she sounds like a broken record, Hochul told New Yorkers to get vaccinated and boosted and to wear masks. While more than 95 percent of New Yorkers have gotten one dose, everyone should get a second because without that they are not fully protected, she said.

And again, Hochul thanked the health care workers: "Angels on Earth."