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According to the state Department of Health, the average seven-day COVID-19 infection rate rose in the Hudson Valley for the fourth straight day, up from 4.49 percent on Friday, March 12 to 4.65 percent on Monday, March 15, the highest rate in the nation, ahead of Long Island (4.53 percent), and New York City (4.21 percent).
A total of 995 new COVID-19 cases were reported in the Hudson Valley out of thousands of tests administered in the area on Monday, officials announced.
Statewide, the average seven-day positive infection rate also rose from the weekend, from 3.16 percent to 3.24 percent.
As of Tuesday, March 15, there were 487 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 373 of the region's 674 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: 373 new (113,577 total);
- Rockland: 187 (41,175);
- Orange County: 220 (39,795);
- Dutchess: 111 (24,039);
- Ulster County: 58 (10,842);
- Putnam: 24 (8,860);
- Sullivan: 22 (5,055);
- Total: 995 (243,343).
New deaths were also reported in:
- Westchester: 3 (2,152 total);
- Orange: 0 (661);
- Dutchess: 0 (418);
- Ulster: 0 (233);
- Rockland: 0 (700);
- Putnam: 0 (88);
- Sullivan: 0 (62).
- Total: 3 (4,314).
There were 157,096 COVID-19 tests administered in New York on March 15 according to Cuomo, resulting in 4,657 new cases for a 4.14 percent positive infection rate, down from the previous day.
One hundred and forty new COVID-19 patients were admitted to New York hospitals, bringing the total to 4,657 still being treated statewide. There are 943 in ICU and 609 intubated.
There were 51 new COVID-19-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
"The pandemic has consumed New Yorkers' lives for the past year, but we have the weapon that will win the war and we're distributing it across the state," Cuomo said. "New York's ever-expanding vaccine network can handle more supply than the state receives, so we're ready to get even more shots in arms when the time comes.
"In the meantime, it's critical that residents continue to wash their hands, wear masks and stay socially distanced," he added. "We will get to the light at the end of the tunnel—we just have to remember that the infection rate is a function of what we do and to stay strong together."
Statewide, a total of 1,740,721 positive COVID-19 cases have been confirmed out of more than 41.4 million tests that have been administered. There have been a total of 39,636 virus-related deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
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