New York Reports New Uptick in COVID Cases as Subvariant Spreads

COVID cases in New York are increasing as the state announced a COVID positivity rate not seen in over a month.

On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul updated New Yorkers on the state's progress combating COVID-19. 2.13 percent of all tests came back positive in the previous 24 hours. The 7-day positivity rate is now 2.02 percent.

This marks the first time the 7-day positivity rate reached above 2 percent for the first time in over a month.

"While hard work has led to enormous progress, we cannot afford to let our guard down," Hochul said.

Hochul reported five more New Yorkers died from COVID. 120 New Yorkers were admitted to the hospital. 911 New Yorkers are currently hospitalized with COVID with 150 in ICU and 68 in ICU with intubation.

"New Yorkers have shown time and time again that they are resilient in the face of crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been no different," Hochul added. "The vaccine and booster are key to moving forward safely through this pandemic, and I encourage all New Yorkers to take advantage of these tools so we can continue to keep ourselves and loved ones safe and healthy."

New York officials are worried about an Omicron subvariant, BA.2.

The Omicron subvariant is surging in Europe and China. It's considered to be more contagious than Omicron. Health officials believe it's about 30 to 50 percent more contagious than the original Omicron strain.

Earlier this week, New York health officials confirmed the subvariant makes up roughly 42-percent of the COVID cases in New York.

Additionally, Gov. Hochul announced the delivery of 100,000 over-the-counter COVID tests at the Food Bank of Central New York in Syracuse.

Food banks across the state are receiving test kits from New York State this week.

These efforts are part of Governor Hochul's previously announced plan to make 20 million over-the-counter tests available to various organizations, mostly schools and adult-care facilities, throughout the spring, officials say.