New York is on the brink of 500,000 confirmed COVID cases - the fourth highest total in the country - as Gov. Cuomo warns that 'microclusters' will be the new norm in fall and winter
New York state is on the threshold of surpassing 500,000 confirmed coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, making it the fourth state to pass the bitter milestone.
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said the state's official total case count stood at 498,646, with cases rising by at least 1,600 per day in six out of the past seven days.
The true number of cases in the state is believed to be much higher, due to the lack of testing in the early days of the pandemic.
New York remains fourth in total confirmed cases after California, Texas, and Florida, which all have larger populations.
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said the state's official total case count stood at 498,646, with cases rising by at least 1,600 per day in six out of the past seven days
New daily cases broke 2,000 in New York last week for the first time since May - though cases, hospitalizations and deaths there all remain far below the state's horrifying peak in spring, when bodies were loaded into refrigerated trucks outside city hospitals.
Another 15 New Yorkers died from COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the statewide total to 25,758 -- by far the highest of any state in the nation. More than 85 percent of New York's deaths have been among those over the age of 60.
Cuomo has touted his new 'micro-clusters' strategy of hyperlocal lockdowns, in which neighborhoods that see a rise in cases are subjected to business restrictions and school closings.
Currently, cluster restrictions remain in effect in one part of Brooklyn, two areas in Queens, and parts of upstate Rockland and Orange counties.
Together, these areas account for roughly half of New York's new cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks.
Cuomo said on Tuesday that the test positivity rate in the cluster areas is 3.65 percent, versus a statewide positivity rate of 1.53 percent excluding those areas.
'We continue to take strong action to respond to outbreaks and to stop the spread,' Cuomo tweeted.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was 'hopeful' that new restrictions imposed on problem areas of Brooklyn could be lifted this week or the next, but that decision is entirely up to the governor.
This week, Cuomo warned micro-clusters will be the new normal heading through fall, saying he plans to implement the same hyperlocal strategy regarding restrictions to curb the risk of spread.
By the time winter comes, Cuomo said he hopes to have a safe, widely available and effective vaccine, but has expressed doubt one could be deliverable to up to 40 million New Yorkers by December.
Meanwhile, Cuomo on Tuesday added California to his list of quarantine states, which travelers entering New York from are required to isolate for two weeks.
The quarantine list now extends to 45 states and territories. Four neighboring states - New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts - also meet Cuomo's quarantine threshold, but he has said that it would be impractical to implement quarantine requirements on those states.
On Monday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that commuters who refuse to wear masks will be fined $50.
Commuters not wearing face masks or coverings at Port Authority facilities will be fined $50 as the agency works to slow the transmission of the coronavirus.
Included among the facilities are airport terminals, PATH stations and trains, AirTrain stations and trains, Midtown Bus Terminal, GWB Bus Station and the Oculus.
In a Monday press release, Port Authority followed the lead of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) in imposing the $50 fine for people not wearing masks
The agency followed the lead of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), which recently announced $500 fines for mask scofflaws.
The Port Authority's new penalty will go into effect on Monday, November 2, 2020.
It came as New Yorkers jammed polling places and stood in line for hours to cast ballots in early voting, ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
New York City continues to account for about half the cases and deaths of New York State each day. The daily number of current hospitalizations in New York state has doubled in the last four weeks to over 1,000 patients.
In the Northeast, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont have seen new cases double in the past four weeks compared with the previous four weeks, according to a Reuters analysis.
