Photo Courtesy of Kevin Coughlin/Office of the Governor
“[W]e are doing very targeted analysis because we have so much testing capacity,” Gov. Cuomo said on Monday, “and we will continue to let the data and science drive our approach to keeping the virus in check.”
By Forum Staff
Governor Andrew Cuomo this week updated New Yorkers on the State’s progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, noting that NY’s positivity rate without the Red Zone cluster focus areas included was 1.05 percent, as of Sunday; and the Empire State’s overall positivity rate is 1.12 percent.
According to the governor, in Red Zone focus areas included as part of NY’s Cluster Action Initiative, the positivity rate for test results reported Sunday is 3.70 percent—down from the 6.13 percent average from last week. However, Cuomo said, it is important to note that weekend test results are often not reflective of the current situation and testing results over the next days will help show the impact of recent efforts to combat the outbreaks. The “Red Zone” focus areas, including several borough communities, are home to 2.8 percent of state’s population, yet had 17.6 percent of all positive cases reported last week.
“We have an approximately 1-percent infection rate statewide, which is very low compared to other states. If we find an area where the rate is 2 percent, that’s a micro-cluster. Three percent in a lot of states would be a safe zone—in New York, we consider it a micro-cluster,” Cuomo added. “So we are doing very targeted analysis because we have so much testing capacity, and we will continue to let the data and science drive our approach to keeping the virus in check.”
