New York renews mask wearing recommendation in 5 counties as COVID cases surge 17% – The Journal News

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Health officials have renewed calls for indoor mask wearing in the Central New York regionas COVID-19 cases surged 17% last week andparts of upstate facedsome of the worst BA.2subvariant outbreaks in the country.

New York reported 22,654 COVID cases in the week ending Sunday, up from 19,377 the previous week, and continuing the turnaround that began last month following a brieflull in the pandemic.

Amid the uptick in infections, the state Health Department on Friday issued an alert recommending mask wearing regardless of vaccination status in all public indoor spaces in Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego counties.Previously, New York ended its indoor mask mandates for public places and schools on Feb. 10 and March 2, respectively.

Overall, New York ranked ninth among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis last week, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

In contrast, COVID cases decreased nearly 10% nationally, with nearly 196,000cases reported, although data reporting issues raised questions about the scope of outbreaks insome states such as Florida, Nebraska, Arizona and Georgia.

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

When those at-home results are included, Central New Yorks seven-day average case rate is47.7per 100,000 residents. When those results are removed, the case rate is37.7 still far above the state average of 15.6.

Meanwhile, hospitalizations, which remain a crucial metric to gauging the virus' spread, havealso begun ticking upwards in many parts of New York, with the statewide tally last week hitting 2,190, up from 2,002 the prior week.

Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said in a statement the COVID trends in Central New York "suggests that transmission of the virus is widespread throughout the region."

The good news is 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 people should get a COVID-19 vaccine and booster dose when eligible.

Many other counties across the Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, Mohawk Valley and Southern Tier also faced major spikes in COVID-19 cases last week, ranging from 30% to nearly 70% surges.

Bassett also urged New Yorkers to geta COVID-19 test following exposure or when developing symptoms, and to stayhome and isolatewhen symptomatic. She also called on those testing positiveto talkto theirhealth care provider about pursuingtreatment options, such as the COVID-19 antiviral pills.

"Treatment is widely available and works best if taken within five days of symptom onset, so get tested quickly after symptoms arise, Bassett said.

Meanwhile, New York also passed a grim milestone last week, as a total of5,005,818 people in New York have now tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

In other words, more than one in four New Yorkers has tested positive for the respiratory disease, which has killed nearly 68,000 people in the state.

New York is the fourth state to surpass the 5 million COVID cases mark, behind California with 9.1 million, Texas with 6.7 million and Florida with 5.9 million.

Nationally, 80,155,397 people have tested positive and 982,565 people have died.

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Within New York, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in:

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

Weekly case counts rose in 45 of 62 counties from the previous week. While state officials called for indoor mask wearing in five upstatecounties, the CDC guidelines, which look at case and hospitalization rates, recommended donning masks indoors in three countiesOnondaga, Oswego and Cayuga which fall in the "high risk" category.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

New York ranked 7th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 89.6% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 77%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Sunday, New York reported administering another 145,584 vaccine doses, including 24,924 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 84,182 vaccine doses.

In New York, 65 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 112 people were reported dead.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, April 3.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

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. Hospitals in 26 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

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New York renews mask wearing recommendation in 5 counties as COVID cases surge 17% - The Journal News