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A total of 728 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 4.14 percent to 4.22 percent over the weekend. Statewide, the infection rate dipped slightly from 3.53 percent to 3.52 percent over the same stretch.
Only Long Island (4.35 percent) and New York City (4.48 percent) had higher infection rates.
As of Monday, Feb. 22, there were 605 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Hudson Valley, representing 0.03 percent of the region's population. The state was also reporting 385 of the region's 676 ICU beds as occupied by COVID-19 patients, leaving 40 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: 377 new (104,777 total);
- Orange County: 107 (35,755);
- Rockland: 95 (37,674);
- Dutchess: 91 (21,656);
- Ulster County: 26 (9,780);
- Putnam: 19 (8,135);
- Sullivan: 13 (4,629);
- Total: 728 (222,406).
New deaths were also reported in:
- Westchester: 10 (2,064 total);
- Rockland: 2 (683);
- Dutchess: 1 (403);
- Orange: 1 (632);
- Ulster: 0 (226);
- Putnam: 0 (86);
- Sullivan: 0 (59).
- Total: 14 (4,153).
"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of New Yorkers, we're beating back COVID more and more every day and that has allowed us to begin reopening different facets of the economy as part of our post-COVID reconstruction," Cuomo said. "Not only are our hospitalization and infection rates declining, but we're continuing to build out New York's already expansive vaccination network to ensure underserved communities are not denied access to this life-saving medication.
"While we're not out of the woods yet, we have the momentum on our side. As long as we stay united and keep doing what we know works, we will finally defeat this invisible enemy and get back to normal."
There were 142,019 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Feb. 21, according to Cuomo, resulting in 5,804 new cases for a 4.33 percent positive infection rate.
There were 89 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
Statewide, a total of 1,578,785 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 36 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 37,851 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic
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