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Coronavirus Updates: Rates Climbing In NYC COVID-19 Hotspot Zones Again, Cuomo Says

Jen Chung

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Sophia Chang

Published Oct 24, 2020

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A man wearing sunglasses and mask looks at his phone while standing in line for testing in Borough Park on October 7th, 2020.

John Minchillo/AP/Shutterstock

Jen Chung

and

Sophia Chang

Published Oct 24, 2020

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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Saturday, October 24th, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, museums, and gyms. Certain parts of Brooklyn and Queens are under a zoned shutdown. A look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

COVID-19 rates are increasing slightly in the city’s micro-cluster zones carved out by the state, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

In the red zone of south Brooklyn, rates increased from 2.51% Thursday to 4.23% Friday, for a rolling seven-day average of 4.47%. In the yellow zone surrounding the Brooklyn's red zone, the positivity rate increased from 1.9% Thursday to 2.07% Friday, for a rolling seven-day average of 2.4%.

In the yellow zone of Kew Garden Hills and Forest Hills in Queens, the positivity rate increased from 1.62% Thursday to 2.4% Friday, for a rolling seven-day average of 2.23%. And in the yellow zone of Far Rockaway in Queens, the positivity rate increased from 1.37% Thursday to 1.68% Friday for a rolling seven-day average of 1.77%.

Overall, the state is at a 1.31% positivity rate. Eleven people died in the state Friday, including one person in Brooklyn and one in Nassau County.

There were 19,799 test results reported Friday from Cuomo’s micro-cluster zones state-wide, yielding 511 positives. Outside of the zones, there were 137,141 test results reported Friday, with 1,550 positive reports.

Cuomo had implemented a micro-cluster zone strategy on October 17th to deal with increasing rates around the state. On Wednesday, Cuomo eased the state restrictions in some neighborhoods after rates had improved, but left the red zones in Brooklyn unchanged.

There were 1,045 people hospitalized Friday, an increase of 22 people over Thursday, and the highest total since June. There were 231 people in intensive care units Friday, an increase of eight patients over Thursday. Of those patients in ICU, 113 people were intubated, an increase of four patients from Thursday.

"As new cases climb across the country, in New York we are continuing our strategy of aggressively targeting micro-clusters whenever they pop up and implementing measures to stop any potential spread quickly," Cuomo said in a release Saturday. "We are able to be surgical in our approach because we have developed such large testing and contact tracing programs. The news from around the country is another reminder that while we have come a long way, this pandemic is not over and we must remain vigilant: wear a mask, wash your hands, socially distance and be New York Tough. The only way to beat this thing is through compliance of public health law and by taking care of one another."

New Jersey Reports Highest Number Of COVID-19 Cases Since May

2:23 p.m.: New Jersey officials are warning that the state's cases are approaching the numbers last seen in the spring during the height of the pandemic.

The state reported 1,994 new cases Friday, making the state's cumulative total 227,339, said Governor Phil Murphy in a tweet Saturday. Eight more people died Friday as well. "We haven’t seen daily case numbers this high since May. We’re still in the midst of a pandemic and need everyone to take this seriously," he wrote.

The increase comes as the local economy continues to reopen, with the reintroduction of indoor dining last month, and schools bringing back students for in-person instruction. What started out as isolated outbreaks on college campuses and within the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood over the High Holidays, has now snowballed into a statewide crisis, fueled by what state officials say is private indoor gatherings across all of New Jersey’s 21 counties.

Murphy himself has also had a close brush with COVID-19 -- he's been in self-quarantine at home since he hung out at a Hoboken bar last week with a senior staffer who later tested positive for the virus. Murphy tested negative for the coronavirus Saturday, as did his wife, according to NJ.com.

A bicyclist in central Park, October 22, 2020

CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock

U.S. Sets New Record For Daily COVID-19 Cases At 83,700+

With cases surging in the Midwest, the United States has set a new record of daily coronavirus cases recorded.

More widely available testing is enabling public health officials to understand how prevalent the virus is. According to Johns Hopkins University, 83,700 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Friday; the NY Times reports the figure may be over 85,000.

The seven-day average for cases in the U.S. is over 60,000 a day. Earlier this week, the White House coronavirus task force designated 31 states as "red zone" areas, where infections are high. Hospitalizations are also rising in the Midwest; Kansas Governor Laura Kelly said that hospitals were strained due to so many patients with the virus.

"We easily will hit six-figure numbers in terms of the number of cases," Michael Osterholm of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said in an interview with CNN. "And the deaths are going to go up precipitously in the next three to four weeks, following usually new cases by about two to three weeks."

In New York, hospitalizations exceeded 1,000 for the first time since June. Governor Andrew Cuomo said during a press conference that he expected all numbers to go up, given that the weather is changing and more people are indoors and possibly congregating. And, as hospitalizations lag by two to three weeks, an uptick is unsurprising after surges in certain "micro-clusters" in the state, including those in Brooklyn and Queens.

Notably, intensive care cases haven't really increased in New York.

The Times points out that the number of cases is high because there's more testing available. Still, many states do not even have mask mandates. On CNN, Dr. Anthony Fauci said mask wearing, social distancing, and avoiding crowds could go a long way to help fight the transmission.

"They sound very simple, but we're not uniformly doing that and that's one of the reasons why we're seeing these surges," said Fauci. "We can control them without shutting down the country."

He added, "If people are not wearing masks, then maybe we should be mandating it."

Tagged

COVID-19

covid-19 updates

coronavirus

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Sophia Chang

Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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