ALBANY, New York, U.S. (AP) – One year after becoming the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, New York and New Jersey once again top the list of states in the United States with the highest rates of infection.
Even as the vaccination campaign has intensified, the number of new cases in New Jersey has increased 37% in just over a month, to about 23,600 infections every seven days. About 50,000 people a week are testing positive for the virus in New York, and that number hasn’t changed much since mid-February.
The two states now rank 1st and 2nd with the most new infections per capita among states in the country. New Jersey has reported about 647 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past 14 days. New York has averaged 548.
Neither entity is experiencing a situation like the one they had last spring, when hospitals, and morgues, were overwhelmed. And like the rest of the country, both are in a much better place than they were in January, when the peak of the pandemic’s winter rebound was recorded.
But the lack of improvement or even a setback in recent weeks has raised concerns that states are resuming economic activities too quickly and people are letting their guard down a lot, just as possibly more contagious variants of the virus are circulating on the loose. broader way.
“When we see cases leveling off or increasing, that’s when policies need to be rethought,” said Roy Gulick, director of the division of infectious diseases at Weill Cornell School of Medicine and New York Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Cornell Medical Center. .
In February, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed the state’s largest stadiums to once again host sporting events and concerts, only at 10% of normal capacity. Theaters in New York City have also reopened. Restaurants can now operate at 50% capacity in Manhattan and 75% in other parts of the state. Indoor exercise classes have also resumed.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has led a similar reopening; restaurants in the state have also been able to operate at half capacity, and barbershops, beauty salons and other personal care establishments have resumed operations.
And that has also happened in other parts of the country.
___
Catalini reported in Trenton, New Jersey.
–
