New York's Covid-19 surge shows no sign of slowing

NEW YORK (NYTIMES) - New York state reported yet another increase in coronavirus cases on Saturday (Dec 18) as a convergence between the fast-spreading Omicron variant and a winter surge of the Delta variant continues to drive a spike in infections.

The 21,908 new cases reported on Saturday was a slight increase over the 21,027 cases reported the day before. Both were daily records for the state.

Still, the number announced on Saturday, which reflected test results from Friday, may not be the highest of the pandemic because a number of virus cases went unreported early last year when testing was not widely available.

Cases, however, have been rising for weeks in New York, prompting some to cancel holiday plans and rush to get tested.

State officials said the test positivity rate was 7.53 per cent, up from about 2.6 per cent on Sept 22. Officials said that 3,909 people were hospitalised on Friday, a net increase of 70 patients.

Governor Kathy Hochul said on Saturday that 40 new pop-up vaccination sites would open across the state, as part of an effort to get New Yorkers fully vaccinated and boosted, which health officials consider critical to protecting people from severe disease and death.

"This is not like the beginning of the pandemic," Ms Hochul said in a statement. "We are prepared for the winter surge because we have the tools at our disposal. Getting vaccinated, getting the booster and wearing a mask are critical to avoiding getting seriously ill from Covid-19, so don't take a chance."

The largest increase in New York state has been in Tompkins County, which includes Ithaca. Cases have increased by more than 640 per cent there over the last 14 days, according to a New York Times database.

An average of 224 people per 100,000 were infected with the coronavirus in Tompkins County, compared with about 61 per 100,000 in New York City, according to the database.

The county is home to a large student population. On Wednesday, Ithaca College said that it had experienced "a notable spike" in cases over 24 hours and was strongly discouraging students from participating in "unstructured off-campus gatherings".

On Tuesday, Cornell University cancelled a ceremony for December graduates, closed libraries and took other restrictive measures after the school's coronavirus testing lab found evidence of the Omicron variant in a number of students' test specimens.

This past week, in an effort to curb the virus's spread as many people travel for the holidays and spend more time indoors, Ms Hochul imposed a statewide mandate requiring that masks be worn in all indoor public spaces that do not require proof of full vaccination for entry.