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A total of 901 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Hudson Valley in the past 24. hours, according to the state Department of Health, as the seven-day average infection rate rose from 4.22 percent over the weekend to 4.23 percent as of Monday, Feb. 22.
Statewide, the infection rate dipped slightly from 3.53 percent to 3.46 percent over the same stretch.
Only Long Island (4.30 percent) and New York City (4.49 percent) have higher infection rates according to the latest data.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 23, there were 617 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Hudson Valley, representing 0.03 percent of the region's population and leaving 35 percent of the region's hospital beds still available.
The state was also reporting 383 of the region's 676 ICU beds as occupied by COVID-19 patients, leaving 41 percent available in case of another surge of the virus.
If the Hudson Valley - or any of the state's nine other regions - finds itself in danger of hitting its 90 percent hospital capacity rate within three weeks, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to shut down the entire region.
A breakdown of new cases in each of the Hudson Valley's seven counties is as follows:
- Westchester: 391 new (105,168 total);
- Orange County: 170 (35,925);
- Rockland: 159 (37,833);
- Dutchess: 113 (21,769);
- Ulster County: 32 (9,812);
- Putnam: 19 (8,154);
- Sullivan: 17 (4,646);
- Total: 901 (223,307).
New deaths were also reported in:
- Westchester: 5 (2,069 total);
- Rockland: 1 (684);
- Dutchess: 1 (404);
- Orange: 1 (633);
- Ulster: 0 (226);
- Putnam: 0 (86);
- Sullivan: 0 (59).
- Total: 8 (4,161).
There were 157,333 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Feb. 22, according to Cuomo, resulting in 5,977 new cases for a 4.23 percent positive infection rate, down slightly from the previous day
There were 86 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
Cuomo made note that 91 percent of the first COVID-19 vaccine doses allocated to New Have have been administered as of 11 a.m. on Feb. 23.
A total of 2,477,825 first doses have been received, with 2,252,945 administered. New York has received 1,390,250 second doses, with 1,183,999 being administered to complete the vaccine.
"The decline in our hospitalization and infection rates is all thanks to the dedication New Yorkers have time and again shown to defeating this invisible enemy," Cuomo said. "As our rates continue to decline, we are opening back up our economy and proving that vaccine distribution can be fair and equitable.
"The light at the end of the tunnel is brighter and brighter each day, but we're not there yet. I encourage New Yorkers to remain vigilant until the war is won: Wear a mask, socially distance, and wash your hands."
Statewide, a total of 1,591,585 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 3.76 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 38,031 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic
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