Health officials in the Central New York region renewed their call for an indoor mask last week as the number of COVID-19 cases surged and parts of upstate faced some of the worst BA.2 subvariant outbreaks in the country.

The number of Covid cases in New York increased in the week ending Sunday, up from 19,377 the previous week.

The state Health Department issued an alert on Friday, saying that anyone with vaccine status should wear a mask in public. On February 10 and March 2, New York ended its indoor mask mandates.

A USA TODAY Network analysis shows that New York was ninth in the country in terms of how fast coronaviruses were spreading.

Vanessa Jean-Baptiste, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, cares for a patient March 1, 2022. Two years into the COVID19 pandemic, Jean-Baptiste continues to work three 7:00 pm to 7:00 am shifts a week in the hospital's ICU.
Vanessa Jean-Baptiste, a registered nurse in the intensive care unit at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, cares for a patient March 1, 2022. Two years into the COVID19 pandemic, Jean-Baptiste continues to work three 7:00 pm to 7:00 am shifts a week in the hospital's ICU.

In contrast, COVID cases decreased nearly 10% nationally, with nearly 196,000 cases reported, although data reporting issues raised questions about the scope of an outbreak in some states.

Tracking the rise in COVID-19 cases in New York has been complicated by the widespread use of at- home tests. Onondaga County was the only county to include its self-reported at- home test results in state data, which slightly skewed the region's case totals.

The seven-day average case rate in Central New York is 47.7 per 100,000 residents. The case rate is still far above the state average when those results are removed.

In New York, the number of hospitalizations increased last week, hitting 2,190, up from 2,002 the previous week.

The Health Commissioner said in a statement that the trends in Central New York suggest that the virus is widespread throughout the region.

The good news is that we have tools to address this. I urge all New Yorkers to remain vigilant and take steps to protect themselves and their families, she added, noting that people should get a COVID-19 vaccine and booster dose when eligible.

Many other counties in the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier faced major spikes in COVID-19 cases last week.

New Yorkers were urged to get a COVID-19 test after exposure and to stay home when symptoms arise. She urged those who were positive to talk to their health care provider about treatment options.

If taken within five days of symptom onset, treatment works best, so get tested after symptoms arise.

Over five million people in New York have tested positive for the coronaviruses since the beginning of the epidemic.

More than one in four New Yorkers have tested positive for the respiratory disease, which has killed over 68,000 people in the state.

California, Texas, and Florida have surpassed the 5 million case mark, while New York has surpassed it.

Over 80 million people have tested positive and over one million have died.

The supply of antiviral pills in NY has tripled.

How COVID is spreading in New York

Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a media briefing Feb. 9.
Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a media briefing Feb. 9.
  • In the last week, Westchester County saw a 50% increase in COVID cases.

  • The number of cases in Rockland County jumped by 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266 800-381-0266

  • Putnam County reported 115 cases and zero deaths.

  • There were 220 cases and zero deaths in the county.

  • Orange County reported 312 cases and one death.

  • Monroe County reported 902 cases and two deaths.

  • There were 241 cases and two deaths in the county.

  • The county reported 404 cases and one death.

The worst weekly outbreak on a per-person basis were in New York.

  • There are 408 cases per 100,000 weekly.

  • There is a county in the state of Onondaga.

  • The county has 350.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Case counts increased in 45 of the 62 counties. While state officials called for indoor mask wearing in five upstate counties, the CDC guidelines, which look at case and hospitalization rates, recommended donning masks indoors in three counties which fall in the high risk category.

See how your community has reacted to the recent coronaviruses cases.

89.6% of New York's residents are at least partially vaccine-free, ranking it 7th among states. An analysis of CDC data shows that the national rate is 77%. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the most used in the United States and require two separate doses.

In the week ending Sunday, New York gave out another 146,584 vaccine doses. 84,182 vaccine doses were administered by the state in the previous week.

In New York, 65 people were reported dead of carbon dioxide. There were 112 deaths in the week before that.

There are coronaviruses cases in the United States.

New York's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data.

The state is likely to haveVID patients admitted.

  • Last week was 2,190.

  • The week before that had 2,002.

  • Two weeks ago: 2,578.

There are likely to be a lot of patients admitted in the nation.

  • Last week: 38,524.

  • The week before that was 39,307.

  • Fifty-six thousand four weeks ago.

Hospitals in 15 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 12 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. The USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows that hospitals in 26 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the last week than in the previous week.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing versions of the story on its news sites across the country, using data from the Centers for Disease Control. If you have a question about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

The New York State Team recommended masks in 5 New York counties.

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