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After nearly two weeks of rising infection rates, the Hudson Valley is reporting another new decline, this time from 4.34 percent to 4.14 percent as of Wednesday, April 7. As recently as Monday, April 5, the infection rate was hovering above 4.60 percent.
Statewide, the COVID-19 infection rate also continues dropping, from 3.6 percent earlier this week to 3.40 percent on April 7.
Less than 1,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 infections were reported on Wednesday, though four new deaths brought the total closer to 4,500 since the pandemic began last year.
As of Thursday, April 8, there were 518 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Hudson Valley, down slightly, representing 0.02 percent of the region's population and leaving 45 percent of the region's hospital beds still available.
The state was also reporting 384 of the region's 679 ICU beds as occupied by COVID-19 patients, up slightly, leaving 43 percent available in case of another new surge of the virus.
A breakdown of new cases in each of the Hudson Valley's seven counties is as follows:
- Westchester: 268 new (122,780 total);
- Rockland: 139 (44,642);
- Dutchess: 133 (27,032);
- Orange County: 128 (44,693);
- Ulster County: 65 (12,502);
- Putnam: 55 (9,890);
- Sullivan: 37 (5,819);
- Total: 825 (266,258).
New deaths were also reported in:
- Westchester: 2 (2,221 total);
- Orange: 2 (685);
- Rockland: 0 (728);
- Dutchess: 0 (428);
- Putnam: 0 (91)
- Sullivan: 0 (67).
- Ulster: 0 (239);
- Total: 4 (4,460).
There were 263,737 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Wednesday, April 7, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, resulting in 8,379 newly confirmed infections for a 3.18 percent positive infection rate, down slightly from the day before.
One hundred and four more COVID-19 patients were discharged from New York hospitals, leaving 4,422 still being treated statewide. There are 947 (down three) in ICU and 600 (up seven) intubated.
There were 47 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours, up from 59 the day before.
More than 35 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 22.3 percent are fully vaccinated. A total of 727,384 first doses have been administered to Hudson Valley residents, while 424,308 have completed the process., both among the highest rates in the state.
"New Yorkers have done a tremendous job at continuing to beat back COVID, but we are not out of the woods yet. Even as we keep expanding eligibility, opening new vaccination sites, and working to ensure the system is equitable, there's still more work to be done before New Yorkers reach the desired level of immunity," Cuomo said. "New variants and continuing infections are still cause for concern, and New Yorkers should stay vigilant.
"Washing hands, social distancing, and masking up are small behaviors that make a big difference in our ability to combat this virus," he continued. "The light at the end of the tunnel is ahead—we just have to get there together."
Statewide, a total of 1,918,343 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 46.6 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 40,970 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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