In the Hudson Valley, after seeing the average seven-day infection rate drop to 4.71 percent on Monday, March 29, it was back up to 4.75 on Tuesday, March 30 out of thousands of COVID-19 tests that were administered.
The Hudson Valley continues to have the highest positivity rate of New York's 10 regions. Only Long Island (4.38 percent) and New York City (4.26 percent) have an infection rate above 3.5 percent.
Statewide, the infection rate dipped from 3.46 percent on Sunday, March 28 to 3.43 percent on Monday and back up to 3.47 percent on Tuesday.
A total of 1,240 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed in the Hudson Valley in the latest data released by the state, and there were eight virus-related fatalities confirmed by the Department of Health.
As of Wednesday, March 31, there were 539 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Hudson Valley, down by nearly two dozen patients, representing 0.02 percent of the region's population and leaving 43 percent of the region's hospital beds still available.
The state was also reporting 408 of the region's 681 ICU beds as occupied by COVID-19 patients, leaving 41 percent available in case of another surge of the virus.
A breakdown of new cases in each of the Hudson Valley's seven counties is as follows:
- Westchester: 490 new (119,732 total);
- Orange County: 216 (43,231);
- Rockland: 210 (43,585);
- Dutchess: 151 (26,044);
- Ulster County: 61 (11,979);
- Putnam: 59 (9,527);
- Sullivan: 53 (5,535);
- Total: 1,240 (258,550).
New deaths were also reported in:
- Rockland: 5 (719);
- Orange: 2 (671);
- Ulster: 1 (237);
- Westchester: 0 (2,194 total);
- Dutchess: 0 (425);
- Sullivan: 0 (64).
- Putnam: 0 (90);
- Total: 8 (4,400).
There were 220,369 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Tuesday, March 30, according to Cuomo, resulting in 8,382 new cases for a 3.80 percent positive infection rate, up slightly from the previous day.
Sixty-four new COVID-19 patients were discharged from New York hospitals, leaving 4,651 still being treated statewide. There are 899 in ICU and 533 intubated.
There were 61 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
More than 30 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 17.9 percent are fully vaccinated. A total of 610,947 first doses have been administered to Hudson Valley residents, while 319,156 have completed the process.
"COVID-19 is still front and center in New York State, and although we continue to make progress vaccinating New Yorkers, it's still a time to practice safe behaviors and care about your fellow citizens. New vaccination sites are opening and eligibility continues to expand, but the infection rate is also a function of what we do to slow the spread," Cuomo said.
"Washing hands, wearing masks, and socially distancing are important tools we can use to protect each other from this virus. We're going to defeat COVID and return to more fulfilling lives together, but in the meantime, everyone needs to stay vigilant."
Statewide, a total of 1,858,432 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of nearly 50 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 40,513 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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