Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday that the transmission rate in New York City was only a fifth of what it was in March and told people not to panic despite the growing number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
On Monday, Cuomo warned hospitals to start recruiting retired doctors and nurses to avoid overloading the hospital system, as in the spring.
He said cases and hospitalizations would continue to rise, as would deaths, but it was a “manageable” situation because the state knew how to prepare for it.
He also revealed that the transmission rate was down to just one while in March it was five.
COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are rising again in New York City but at a much slower pace as the transmission rate is 1: 1 now compared to 1: 5 in March
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This is due to the fact that the virus was spreading without anyone knowing as early as December 2019 and January and February of this year.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said the situation was ‘manageable’ but action must be taken now to avoid another crisis
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This meant that by the time the problem arose, it was so widespread that it was impossible to contain it.
By the time people got to the hospital, they were gravely ill because they mistakenly assumed their first symptoms of COVID were either colds or the flu.
Now people go to the hospital earlier and are generally more aware.
This means that even though more and more cases are coming in, they are coming at a much slower rate, making it less of a crisis.
“In March, one person infected five people. Now our infection rate is one. Our transmission rate is much lower – it’s a very different situation.
“Our rate of increase in hospitalizations has nothing to do with that of last March… we were seeing thousands a week.
“There is no comparison between the numbers,” he said on a call with reporters.
One of Cuomo’s health experts who was also on the call said the difference was “night and day”.
On Tuesday, he reiterated his previous remarks and revealed that the statewide 7-day average test positivity is now 3.9%. Of all tests done on Monday, 4.96% were positive.
People line up for COVID tests in Manhattan on November 24. More and more people are coming to the hospital early, but they are also being tested at an increased rate.
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There were 66 deaths on Monday, which is the highest number since May 29 and there are 3,774 people in hospital, an increase of more than 200 since Sunday.
That’s still a far cry from the 18,000 people who were in hospital at the height of the crisis in April, but it’s the same number as in the hospital on March 23.
Cuomo said Tuesday, “My projection is that the numbers will continue to rise during the holiday season.
“We focused on Thanksgiving during the day or on the weekend – it wasn’t. It was the start of the holiday season.
He also said that while the vaccine – which is expected to be approved by the FDA soon – is “a light at the end of the tunnel – it won’t be available soon enough to make a difference.”
We are still not talking about a total shutdown of the type observed in March and April.
This time, Cuomo says he will look at each zip code on its own numbers and enforce stopping laws that way.
If a neighborhood reaches more than 3% positivity on the test on a seven-day moving average, it will be considered an “orange zone” that would shut down non-essential businesses like gyms and indoor restaurants.
Then the next step is a ‘red zone’, which would end indoor and outdoor eating.
Cuomo said on Monday that he plans to implement a fourth phase known as NY Pause that would force everything to shut down.
It is not known what it would take for an area to achieve this categorization.
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