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More than 2,000 New Yorkers are hospitalized as a result of the coronavirus in New York state for the first time since the summer — and that rate has been steadily increasing for weeks, data shows.
The state Health Department recorded 2,124 new patients hospitalized statewide for COVID-19 as of Monday, up another 156 patients the day before.
The last time hospitalization levels in the Empire State hit past 2,000 was in June.
ICU admissions were also on the rise over the last 24 hours by 17, bringing the new total to 408, the data shows.
The daily statewide coronavirus positivity rate was at 3.18 percent — an increase from 2.8 percent the day before.
According to the latest statistics, 29 New Yorkers died as from the virus Monday, bringing the statewide death toll to 26,189.
“The number of cases across the country and in New York are only continuing to climb. Despite our success in managing the spread, New York is not immune to this national surge of COVID,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.
Cuomo said the state’s “micro-cluster and testing capacity will help us through this new season, but ensuring we don’t go back to where we were in the spring is going to depend on our behavior.”
“We all have a part to play — wear a mask, stay socially distant, avoid gatherings large and small, and wash your hands religiously. Our actions today determine our rate of positive cases tomorrow — it’s that simple,” the governor said.
Towards the end of summer and into the fall, the statewide coronavirus infection rate had hovered at around 1 percent — a number at which Cuomo was keen on staying.
According to the latest city data, the Big Apple’s seven-day rolling average of new virus cases is at 1,117 — about double where the caseload was in October.
