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Hudson Valley counties were reporting a total of more than 1,000 newly confirmed COVID-19 infections on Friday, April 2, as the region continues contending with the latest spike of cases across the country.
The average seven-day positive infection rate of those tested in the Hudson Valley dropped for the first time this week, modestly from 4.87 percent to 4.84 percent on Thursday, April 1.
Statewide, the positive infection rate continues to rise, up to 3.59 percent on April 1.
Ten new COVID-19-related fatalities brought the death toll in the Hudson Valley to 4,424 since the pandemic began, with the most reported out of Westchester.
As of April 2, there were 542 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Hudson Valley, down slightly, 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 396 of the region's 678 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: 418 new (120,734 total);
- Orange County: 203 (43,686);
- Dutchess: 99 (26,329);
- Rockland: 168 (43,886);
- Ulster County: 68 (12,126);
- Sullivan: 46 (5,622);
- Putnam: 64 (9,627);
- Total: 1,066 (260,927).
New deaths were also reported in:
- Westchester: 5 (2,204 total);
- Orange: 3 (679);
- Sullivan: 1 (66).
- Dutchess: 1 (426);
- Rockland: 0 (721);
- Ulster: 0 (238);
- Putnam: 0 (90)
- Total: 10 (4,424).
There were 257,646 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on Thursday, April 1, according to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, resulting in 7,787 newly confirmed infections for a 3.02 percent positive infection rate, down from the previous day.
Sixty-four new COVID-19 patients were discharged from New York hospitals, leaving 4,540 still being treated statewide. There are 913 in ICU and 565 intubated.
There were 63 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
Nearly 32 percent of New Yorkers have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 19.2 percent are fully vaccinated. A total of 645,371 first doses have been administered to Hudson Valley residents, while 350,107 have completed the process.
"Vaccinations for COVID-19 are progressing as fast as we can get shots in arms, and while that's good news, the pandemic isn't over and New Yorkers have to stay vigilant. It's critical that we continue washing hands, wearing masks, and social distancing across the state to slow the spread and keep each other safe," Cuomo said.
"New York is expanding eligibility and opening new vaccination sites statewide with a particular focus on historically underserved communities, and we're holding fast to that commitment." Cuomo continued. "However, New Yorkers should take continuing infections and new variants into account as we move forward toward the light at the end of the tunnel together."
Statewide, a total of 1,875,107 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 45 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 40,635 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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