LI Tops 6% Positivity Rate: 'This Is An Alarm Going Off'

LONG ISLAND, NY — As the coronavirus positivity rate topped 6 percent on Long Island and more than 10 percent in other regions upstate, Gov. Kathy Hochul said new mandates could be coming.

On Thursday, the seven-day average positivity rate statewide stood at 4.78 percent, with Long Island at 6.09 percent.

Hochul noted that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Preventio had authorized boosters for 16 and 17 year olds.

New York, Hochul said, now has 20 reported cases of the new omicron variant, with three on Long Island, all in Suffolk County.

"We expect that number to rise," Hochul said, adding that the cases are due to community spread.

Hochul was joined at Thursday's press briefing by Dr. Mary Bassett, Commissioner of the Department of Health; both noted that the overwhelmingly dominant strain in the United States and the world continued to be the delta variant.

Questions remain about the omicron variant, including how transmissible it is, if it will cause more severe disease, and how well current vaccinations will prevent against it, Bassett said.

Bassett said that in addition to looking at new variants, a broad approach to COVID-19 must be taken, including the lasting impact on the mental health of children and providing resources who are long haulers, still dealing with the physical repercussions of COVID-19 more than a year later.

While all are weary of COVID-19, the best protection, Bassett and Hochul said, can be found in vaccinations and boosters. People should protect the most vulnerable in their families, including the elderly and children under 5 who can't be vaccinated — and they should stay home if sick, wear masks indoors, and socially distance, Bassett said.

Hochul said there is focus on home testing, with private insurance companies now required to cover the cost of those tests; in addition, the federal government, she said, approved 13 manufacturers of home tests to increase supply and drive down price.

Looking at a map of areas mapped out in red where the numbers are ticking upward, Hochul said: "This red is an alarm going off," she said.

Elective surgeries have been canceled at 32 hospitals with an executive order allowing an expanded work force to provide vaccinations and the National Guard to be sent in to help.

Nine new vaccinations sites have been unveiled statewide, Hochul said, and 1 million testing kits are slated to arrive next week, to be distributed to local health departments.

A continued uptick in hospitalizations keeps her up at night, Hochul said.

"Look at where we were last April in 2021 and how the numbers are spiking up," she said. "We want to make sure that we're alerting people. This is not, 'The sky is falling.' I just want to make sure that people take this very seriously."

On the upside, Hochul said nearly 92 percent of people 18 and older have had at least one shot.

Hochul continued to offer incentives Thursday, with the first 50 people getting boosters at Yonkers Library, Brooklyn Christ Fellowship Church, Mount Vernon, Grace Baptist, Freeport Bethel, and Queens Museum in New York City able to get free tickets to see the Radio City Rockettes.

"We've seen the numbers. We've seen hospitalizations go up. We've seen infections go up and vaccinations are going up, but not at the rate we want them to see. So we've been talking about needing to take conditional steps at some point," Hochul said, adding that she would announce more about that Friday.

When asked why a statewide mandate wasn't in effect regarding the need to show a vaccination card to get into venues, Hochul said, "Plans are being developed to address the impending surge. . .The numbers right now are not looking good. I will continue to reserve the rights to take steps to assist the regions of our state."