The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with COVID ballooned over Christmas, with more than 5,500 people spending their holidays inside one of New York's many hospital facilities - the largest increase since February.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that statewide hospitalizations stand at 5,526 - the highest total since February 23 and nearly a 190 percent increase since November 1, according to NBC 4 New York.
'You can see the hospitalizations are continuing to spike upward, [but] you can get some comfort in seeing that we're not where we were in April 2020, we're not where we were in January of 2021,' she said. 'But it is going upwards and that is something that we are very cognizant of and were anticipating and preparing for.'
Around 17,000 New Yorkers were hospitalized during the peak of the first wave in spring 2020, with 7,000 receiving professional medical care as 2021 began.
Hospitalizations among children, though, have also skyrocketed, more than doubling statewide since the beginning of the month and has jumping five-fold in New York City.
Across the state, 70 children were hospitalized with COVID during the week of December 5 to 11, but so from December 19 to 23, that number jumped to 184.
And in New York City, there were 22 children in the hospitals for COVID from December 5 to 11, but by December 19 to 23 there were 109 children hospitalized with the virus.
'We are releasing this data because we want pediatricians to be alert to making the diagnosis of COVID in children,' said Dr. Mary Bassett, the state's acting health commissioner, adding that she wants parents to be aware that their children can catch the virus as well.
'Many people thought - continue to think - that children don't become infected with COVID. This is not true,' she said. 'Children become infected and some will be hospitalized.'
Bassett urged parents to get their children vaccinated, with CDC data showing that just 27.3 percent of five to 11 year olds in the state have received at least one dose, and only 16.4 percent are fully vaccinated. COVID is only fatal in extremely rare cases among under 18s, with fewer than 800 children in that age group being killed by the virus in the US since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, New York State saw 26,737 people test positive for the virus - though Hochul said on Monday she expects the number to rise up to 20,000 or more by the time Tuesday's data comes in, as more people will get tested following the Christmas holiday.
The situation is more grim in New York City, which is seeing a 10.7 percent positivity rate with a 17,334 total cases reported over the past week.
There were also 208 hospitalizations over the past week, according to New York City health data, and 10 deaths as the Omicron variant continues to spread. It now accounts for 73 percent of cases in the U.S. according to most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that hospitalizations have increased over Christmas
As of Monday, there were 5,526 New Yorkers in the hospital - the first time the state has surpassed more than 5,500 hospitalizations since late February
Hospitalizations among children have more than doubled statewide and jumped five-fold in New York City
New York State saw 26,737 people test positive for the virus - though Hochul said on Monday she expects the number to rise up to 20,000 or more by the time Tuesday's data comes in, as more people will get tested following the Christmas holiday.
Still, Mayor Bill de Blasio has vowed that the annual New Years Eve ball drop will continue, even as Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that people should cancel their New Years plans.
De Blasio announced last week that he will limit the number of revelers in Times Square for New Years Eve to 15,000, down from a planned 58,000, and attendees will need to wear masks and show proof of vaccination, as long lines form in the area for COVID tests.
But on Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN's Kaitlan Collins that Americans should consider cancelling their New Years plans to avoid spreading the virus even more, and making the nation's Covid situation worse. While small family gatherings could be ok, he warns against large parties.
'I have been telling people consistently that if you're vaccinated and boosted and you have a family setting, in the home with family and relatives,' Fauci told CNN.
'But when you're talking about a New Year's Eve party, we have 30, 40, 50 people celebrating. You do not know the status of their vaccination, I would recommend strongly stay away from that this year.'
On Monday, Dr. Anthony Fauci urged Americans to cancel their New Years Eve plans - even as Mayor Bill de Blasio plans to hold a scaled down ball drop in Times Square
Meanwhile, de Blasio's vaccine mandate for private sector employers went into effect on Monday, with all private-sector employees having to show proof that they have received at least one COVID vaccine shot.
The mandate applies to all businesses that employ more than one person and to the self-employed who interact with the public in the course of their business, according to SI Live.
Any employee who submits proof of their vaccine will have 45 days to provide proof of their second shots if they receive the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, and all businesses will nee to fill out a form affirming their compliance and place it in a 'public-facing location' at the place of employment.
Fines for noncompliance start at $1,000 and could rise with further infractions.
'Today [is] a historic day in New York City. We're implementing the strongest vaccine mandate in the country, all private sector employees today,' de Blasio said on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Monday morning.
'This is what we need to do everywhere,' he said. 'Every mayor every governor, every CEO in America should do vaccine mandates now, because 2022 has to e the year we leave COVID behind.'
Also on Monday, the city's vaccine mandate for children went into effect, with all New Yorkers 12 and older required to have received two doses of the COVID vaccine - unless they were injected with the one-shot Johnson and Johnson jab - to enter many indoor settings including restaurants, gyms, movie theaters and Broadway shows.
As of Monday, about 91.6 percent of New York City adults have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 82.8 percent are fully vaccinated. Among children, however, just 41.3 percent are fully vaccinated, 12.5 percent are partially vaccinated and 46.3 percent are not yet vaccinated.
Huge lines have formed outside of COVID testing sites across New York City
Workers have started to distribute free at-home testing kits to New York City residents
A lucky woman was able to grab one of the at-home testing kits in Queens
Elsewhere, people got tested for COVID at rapid testing sites like the one seen here in Manhattan
Many New Yorkers also spent their Christmas Eve scrambling for COVID tests as infections driven by the Omicron variant surged across the Empire State.
Astonishing photos show how police had to keep the peace at a city-sponsored truck in Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, on Friday morning while city officials handed out 2,000 free Binax COVID home testing kits.
Scores of frustrated locals were photographed holding their hands out in the hopes of receiving one of the home testing kids, which the US has been slow to approve, and which are now in extremely short supply amid the latest wave of the virus.
They clustered around the testing bus, with a lucky few receiving one of the precious kits. One woman who didn't receive a kit appeared visibly upset.
Four other buses each giving out 2,000 tests were located in the other four boroughs of the city, with snaps showing a more sedate line waiting to pick one up at the Manhattan location, in Harlem.
New Yorkers - and many Americans - have been spooked by the latest surge in COVID, which saw the state smash its daily diagnoses record for the third day in a row on Friday.
Lines of up to six hours have been reported at testing clinics, with many of those tested also forced to wait days longer than the advertised 24 to 48 hours for their result, ruining the Christmas plans of many.
But on Monday, Hochul announced that the state has ordered 37 million new testing kits nd fie more testing sites will open across the five boroughs this week.
Two million tests will also go to New York City schools, she said, and FEMA assistance teams will be opening more testing sites.
President Joe Biden has also pledged to open federal megasites, though it remains unclear where those would be and when they would open.
Post a Comment