According to the state Department of Health, the average seven-day COVID-19 infection rate rose in the Hudson Valley for the fifth straight day, up from 4.49 percent on Friday, March 12 to 4.67 percent on Tuesday, March 16, the highest rate in the state, ahead of Long Island (4.50 percent), and New York City (4.18 percent).
A total of 1,077 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Hudson Valley out of thousands of tests administered in the area on Tuesday, officials announced.
Statewide, the average seven-day positive infection rate also rose from 3.22 percent on Sunday, March 14 to 3.28 percent on March 16.
As of Wednesday, March 17, there were 494 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the Hudson Valley, representing 0.02 percent of the region's population and leaving 44 percent of the region's hospital beds still available.
The state was also reporting 375 of the region's 677 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: 422 new (113,999 total);
- Rockland: 184 (41,359);
- Orange County: 235 (40,030);
- Dutchess: 117 (24,156);
- Ulster County: 51 (10,893);
- Putnam: 31 (8,891);
- Sullivan: 37 (5,092);
- Total: 1,077 (244,420).
New deaths were also reported in:
- Westchester: 3 (2,155 total);
- Rockland: 1 (701);
- Orange: 0 (661);
- Dutchess: 0 (418);
- Ulster: 0 (233);
- Putnam: 0 (88);
- Sullivan: 0 (62).
- Total: 4 (4,318).
There were 263,401 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on March 16 according to Cuomo, resulting in 8,976 new cases for a 3.41 percent positive infection rate, down from the previous day.
Thirty-three more COVID-19 patients were discharged from New York hospitals, bringing the total to 4,624 still being treated statewide. There are 954 in ICU and 601 intubated.
There were 54 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
Statewide, a total of 1,749,697 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 41.74 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 39,690 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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