NYC Coronavirus Stats Reach Record-Low As Cases Surge Across U.S.

NEW YORK, NY — As coronavirus cases surge nationwide, New York City — once the world's COVID-19 epicenter — has reached a record-low in containing the crisis.

The percentage of people testing positive for the coronavirus in New York City was just 1 percent on Sunday, the lowest it has been since the pandemic took hold of the city in March, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

That number is down from the peak of the coronavirus crisis in the Big Apple, when 71 percent of those tested had the virus, de Blasio said.

The rest of the city's markers for controlling the pandemic also remained low.

"At the height of this crisis we had 850 people admitted to the hospital for suspected COVID-19 in a single day, compare that to the 62 admitted today," de Blasio said. "A lot to be proud of."

The record-low of those testing positive for the virus comes as the pandemic surges in other parts of the country.

For the 27th day in a row, the United States set a record for the average number of daily cases reported nationwide, according to The Washington Post. The daily case count reached 48,606 on Sunday.

As of Sunday evening, there were more than 2.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 130,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The nationwide spike has led several states to scale back reopening their economies.

In New York City, a plan to include indoor dining in phase three of reopening, which started Monday, was scrapped due to the national resurgence of the virus. New York has mandated travelers coming from 16 states to quarantine.

As a whole, New York state was once one of only three in the nation that looked likely to get the virus under control, according to a group of epidemiologists tracking the outbreak.

That group has since reassigned New York to a medium-risk level and described the disease's spread in the state as "slow and controlled" — which is still better than most of the nation.

Statewide, only 0.95 percent of coronavirus tests came back positive on Sunday and hospitalizations fell to 817, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Compare that to April 6 when there were 6,377 cases, 1,720 hospitalizations and 565 deaths across the state.