New York state’s COVID-19 positivity rate dropped to below 1.5 percent on Saturday for the first time since Oct. 28, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.
State officials recorded 2,849 positive cases out of 191,257 tests, Cuomo’s office said — bringing the seven-day average positivity to 1.84 percent, the lowest rate since Nov. 6.
Just 33 people died from the virus on Saturday, as hospitalizations dropped to 2,535, the lowest number since Nov. 20 and 33 percent less than two weeks ago.
The state owes its falling case rates to increased vaccinations, Cuomo said.
“Every single day, New York State is moving forward in the footrace between the infection rate and the vaccination rate,” Cuomo said in a statement.
“More New Yorkers are getting vaccinated and hospitalizations are declining, which is good news, but we need New Yorkers to stay vigilant to make sure we don’t lose any of the progress we’ve made.”
New York City’s seven-day positive case rate stood at 1.78 percent on Saturday, according to state figures — the fifth lowest among New York’s 10 regions.
The state’s highest COVID-19 rates are in Western New York, where the seven-day positivity rate was 3.38 percent on Saturday.