New York Governor Kathy Hochul says state "might be cresting" peak of Omicron surge as positivity rate slows down
CBSN
New York may have seen the worst of its recent Omicron winter surge, as the statewide positivity case rate has slowly begun to decrease, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday. But hospitalizations due to COVID-19 in the state are still on the rise and tens of thousands of cases are still being reported each day.
"It looks like we might be cresting over that peak," Hochul said at a briefing Tuesday. "Cases are slowing down. The rate of increase is slowing down. But they are still high. We are not at the end, but I wanted to say this is, to me, a glimmer of hope. A glimmer of hope at a time we desperately need that."
On Monday, New York reported 48,686 new COVID-19 cases, averaging a 20.9% positivity rate over the prior 7 days. The state also recorded 1,642 new hospitalizations on Monday, according to the New York State Department of Health. The state also recorded 78 additional deaths on Monday, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.